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Modular Manipulator

It’s never too late.
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Home      About me      Projects      Blog
Modular Manipulator

The demand for robot manipulators has been steadily increasing in various small batch production scenarios. One notable trend is the frequent use of robots that are capable of adapting to different tasks and conditions based on the specific production requirements. This shift is driven by the need for flexibility and versatility, allowing companies to effectively handle diverse production demands instead of solely focusing on mass production or simple standardized tasks.

The reconfigurable modular robot manipulator system has been designed to overcome the shortcomings of flexibility in adapting articulated robots. The system consists of modular joints/links, grippers (end-effectors), a 3D vision sensor, and software. The modular robot manipulator can be reconfigured into an optimal composition based on the user’s objectives. As a result, this system allows users to build an optimized solution for specific tasks at a low cost and within a short timeframe.

The project consists of two parts as follows:

  1. Develop the modular joints/links/gripper according to user demand:
    • Develop the modular joint, including the connection mechanism, joint torque sensor, and EtherCat communication bus.
    • The modular link consists of three different length modules.
    • The modular gripper includes a 6-DOF force/torque sensor.
  2. Simulator – automatically regenerate kinematic information according to the user’s configuration:
    • Generate the optimal configuration suitable for the task.
    • Develop the control algorithm for the modular manipulator and automatic gain design.
    • Develop a generator for kinematic information based on the robot joints and links implemented.

Role

  • Research, Mechanical engineering/design the modular manipulator,
  • Lead a team.

Members

Wooseok Choi, Mingyo Seo, alchan Yoon, Daeho Moon

Targets

  • Development of a modular manipulator that is reconfigurable using its modular joints, links, and gripper.
  • Development of motion control software that can recognize the kinematic information based on the robot joints and links implemented.

Results

Existing robot manipulators are designed with specifications that satisfy the objectives set based on the development plan of the manufacturing company. Therefore, it is difficult to produce a user-customizable system that meets the diverse needs of various users. In this project, the team aimed to overcome these difficulties by developing joint modules that integrate motors, power transmission, and controllers. The robot manipulator system consists of an image sensor module and a gripper module integrated with a 6-axis force sensor. By combining these modules, the manipulator can be configured and used to adapt to the specific system requirements of the user, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. Ultimately, the aim was to provide users with a robot that can be customized according to their desired application.

Figure 1. Modular Manipulator

Figure 2. CAD model of the modular manipulator

Figure 3. Details of the joint module

Refereces

  1. Design of Genderless Connection Mechanism for Modular Manipulator. Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2016 IEEE International Conference on, pp. 3563-3564.
  2. Design of Joint Module equipped with manually configurable reducer for Gearing. Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence (URAI), 2017 IEEE International Conference on.
Copyright @Wooseok

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