Erbil International University

Computer Science Department

2nd Term -4th Grade

Dr. Wasan Adnan Hashim

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 Dr. Wasan Adnan Hashim

LECTURE TWO:
Robot Joints

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Robot Joints
•Robot joints can be either rotary (also
known as revolute) or prismatic
(telescoping)

Dr. Wasan Adnan Hashim

•Prismatic Cartesian Robot
• Actuators are used in order to
produce mechanical movement in
robots.

Rotary SCARA
robot
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Robot Joints (cont…)
 There are three basic ways you can categorize robot joints:
1.By actuation type
2.By kinematic design
3.By joint function
Types of Robot Joint by Actuation Type
The first way to categorize robot joints is by their actuation type. An actuator refers to any
mechanical or electromechanical device that creates motion. The actuator generates a force
using a particular type of energy.
 Dr. Wasan Adnan Hashim
THE THREE BASIC TYPES OF ROBOT ACTUATORS:
1. Electric
An electric actuator converts electrical energy into motion with an
electric motor. This creates a torque that moves the robot joint. Electric
actuators are probably the most common actuator type in robotics.
2. Pneumatic and hydraulic actuators, used in industry for large
manipulation tasks but seldom for mobile robots
Benefits of pneumatics include its fast speed and simplicity.
Hydraulic robots are often the strongest with a high range of mobility.
3. Artificial muscles
Artificial muscles of various types, none of which are very good
approximations of living muscles
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Actuator Control
1. Robots are classified by control method into servo and non-servo
robots
2. Non-servo robots are essentially open-loop devices whose
movements are limited to predetermined mechanical stops
3. Servo robots use closed-loop computer control to determine their
motion
 Open Loop Controller
An open-loop controller (or non-feedback controller) is a type of controller which
computes its input into a system using only the current state and its model of the
system
The system does not observe the output of the processes that it is controlling

Input Controller Motor Output

 Closed Loop Controller
A closed-loop controller uses feedback to control states or outputs of a
dynamical system

Output
Input Controller Motor Measurement
Output

Feedback

Process inputs have an effect on the process outputs, which is measured

with sensors and processed by the controller; the result is used as input to
the process, closing the loop
Dr. Wasan Adnan Hashim
 Closed Loop Controller
Closed-loop controllers have the following advantages over open-loop
controllers:
• Disturbance rejection (such as unmeasured friction in a motor)
• Guaranteed performance even with model uncertainties, when the model structure
does not match perfectly the real process and the model parameters are not exact
• Unstable processes can be stabilized
• Reduced sensitivity to parameter variations
• Improved reference tracking performance
 Actuators and motors
• Most actuators convert electrical
energy into mechanical energy
through the use of
electromagnetic fields and
rotating wire coils.
• When a voltage is applied to a
motor, it outputs a fixed amount
of mechanical power
• (usually to a shaft, gear,
and/or wheel),
• spinning at some speed
• with some amount of torque.
 Electrical Actuators
• easy to control
• from mW to MW
• normally high velocities 1000 - 10000 rpm
• several types
• accurate servo control
• ideal torque for driving
• excellent efficiency
• autonomous power system difficult
 Electric actuators

•Mainly rotating but also

linear ones are available

•linear movement with gear or

with real linear motor
Electrical Actuator Types

• DC-motors
• brushless DC-motors
• asynchronous motors
Not discussed
• synchronous motors
• reluctance motors (stepper motors)
 Electric Motors
1. Electric motors are the most common source of torque for mobility and/or
manipulation in robotics
2. The physical principle of all electric motors is that when an electric current is
passed through a conductor (usually a coil of wire) placed within a magnetic field, a
force is exerted on the wire causing it to move
 Components Of An Electric Motor
The principle components of an electric motor are:
• North and south magnetic poles to provide a strong magnetic field. Being made of
bulky ferrous material they traditionally form the outer casing of the motor and
collectively form the stator
• An armature, which is a cylindrical ferrous core rotating within the stator and carries a
large number of windings made from one or more conductors
• A commutator, which rotates with the armature and consists of
copper contacts attached to the end of the windings
• Brushes in fixed positions and in contact with the rotating
commutator contacts. They carry direct current to the coils,
resulting in the required motion

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 Components Of An Electric Motor (cont…)
Stator
(Rotating)
Commutator
Armature

Brushes

Dr. Wasan Adnan Hashim

 k y o u
Th a n

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