Optimal Design of the Modular Joint Drive Train for Enhancing Cobot Load Capacity and Dynamic Performance

Automation advancements prompts the extensive integration of collaborative robot(cobot)across a range of industries.Compared to the commonly used design approach of increasing the payload-to-weight ratio of cobot to enhance load capacity,equal attention should be paid to the dynamic response characteristics of cobot during the design process to make the cobot more flexible.In this paper,a new method for designing the drive train parameters of cobot is proposed.Firstly,based on the analysis of factors influencing the load capacity and dynamic response characteristics,design criteria for both aspects are established for cobot with all optimization design criteria normalized within the design domain.Secondly,with the cobot in the horizontal pose,the motor design scheme is discretized and it takes the joint motor diameter and gearbox speed ratio as optimization design variables.Finally,all the discrete values of the optimization objectives are obtained through the enumeration method and the Pareto front is used to select the optimal solution through multi-objective optimization.Base on the cobot design method proposed in this paper,a six-axis cobot is designed and compared with the commercial cobot.The result shows that the load capacity of the designed cobot in this paper reaches 8.4 kg,surpassing the 5 kg load capacity commercial cobot which is used as a benchmark.The minimum resonance frequency of the joints is 42.70 Hz.

System design of a dexterous lightweight robot arm with remote control

This paper presents a novel remote controlled dexterous robot arm with 6 degrees of freedom （DOF）. As a highly integrated mechatronics system, sensors and their signal processing system are integrated inside each joint. To lighten the weight, almost all mechanical parts are made of aluminum and the robot control system is placed outside. The modular concept is adopted during the robot design process for time and cost saving. Considering the much greater torque acted on the two shoulder joints, the joint shells are strengthened in the design to increase joint stiffness and suppress system vibration. Meanwhile, to simplify the maintenance, a new spring pins electronic connector is designed to disassemble every joint, connector and link independently without cutting any cables. The teleoperation technology enables the robot to offer more convenient service definitely for people＇ s daily life. Virtual reality technology is used to solve the time delay problem during teleoperation. Finally, two typical daily chore experiments are implemented to prove the manipulation ability of the dexterous robot arm.