Mechanical Design of the Jasper Mobile Manipulator

摘要

This paper describes the mechanical design and analysis of a mobile-manipulator system comprised of a robot manipulator and a mobile base. The combination of the two is known as a mobile manipulator and combines the maneuverability of the mobile base with the accuracy of the robot manipulator. The mechanical design of a new mobile-manipulator system with the robot manipulator mounted on the front is discussed. The device features an innovative 2-DOF (degree-of-freedom) parallelogram coupling device that allows the base of the robot manipulator to translate vertically and roll longitudinally relative to the mobile base. The coupling device has dampers to reduce the vibrations caused by the motion of the mobile base on the robot manipulator and vice versa. The design features the use of omni-wheels that eliminate the problems inherent with traditional caster wheels.