Introduction

to Robotics
Lecture 2
 Modeling the Human Arm

• A human arm is considered to have seven DOFs

• A shoulder gives pitch, yaw and roll

• An elbow allows for pitch

• A wrist allows for pitch, yaw and roll

 Modeling the Human Arm

• Manipulator resembles the human arm in appearance,

structure and in many of its function

• The human arm consists of two major parts:

- The wrist with three minor joints
- The arm’s two major joints, i.e. shoulder and the elbow

• Function of human wrist is to provide orientation of the

object held by the hand
 Modeling the Human Arm
• The human wrist basic performance specification may be
defined as follows:

• Hold your right arm and hand straight out

• Keep the palm in downward direction; this is the reference
angular position (0o)
• Then rotate your wrist as far as you can in both a clockwise
and anti-clockwise direction

This is the roll motion and its possible limits are at -180o and
+90o respectively
-180o ≤ Roll ≤ +90o
 Modeling the Human Arm
• Hold right arm in the reference angular position
• Without rolling hand , move the wrist from initial straight
position as far as possible in a downward and then in an
upward direction

• This is the pitch motion and its limit positions are at -90o and
+50o

-90o ≤ Pitch ≤ +50o

 Modeling the Human Arm
• Hold right arm in the reference angular position
• While, wrist making neither a roll nor a pitch motion, let the
fingers point horizontally as far as possible to the right and
then to the left

This is the yaw motion and its limit positions are at -45o and
+ 15o

-45o ≤ Yaw ≤ +15o

 Modeling the Human Arm
• To provide roll motion to hand, forearm and upper arm, both
undergo a twist, while pitch and yaw are provided by the
wrist joint

• Roll, pitch and yaw are independent motions and therefore

referred to as degrees of freedom

• The second part of the human arm consists of upper arm

and forearm with shoulder and elbow joints

• Human arm has 3-DOF in the shoulder with a ball and socket
joint, 1-DOF in the elbow between forearm and upper arm
 Modeling the Human Arm
• The human hand at the end of arm, has four fingers and a
thumb, each with 4-DOF

• The finger and thumb joints can act independently or get

locked, depending on task, offering a very high dexterity to
zero dexterity

• Multi-fingered hands are the subject of research in robotics

and several industrial robotic hands have been developed

• Robotic legs for walking machines can also be modeled with

rotational joints in a very similar manner as arms
Modeling the Human Arm
 Robot Manipulators

• Workspace represents that portion of the environment the

manipulator’s end-effector can access

• Its shape and volume depend on the manipulator structure

as well as on the presence of mechanical joint limits

• The task required of the arm is to position the wrist which

then is required to orient the end-effector
Example end-effector: Grippers

The Barrett Hand

 Robot Arm Structures
• Figures on next slides show some common robot arm
structures

• Robotic arms are meant to perform work similarly to the

way human arms do

• However, whereas as human arm has only rotational joints,

robot can include prismatic and revolute joints and have
greater ranges of motion strength in their joints

• The robot structures shown in figures have three or four

joints and can position their end effectors within their
workspace
Robot Arm Structures
 Robot Arm Structures

Cylindrical
Robot Arm Structures
 Robot Arm Structures

SCARA
 Mobile Robots
• The main feature of mobile robots is the presence of a
mobile base which allows the robot to move freely in the
environment

• Unlike the manipulators, such robots are mostly used in

service applications, where extensive, autonomous motion
capabilities are required

• From mechanical viewpoint, a mobile robot consists of one

or more rigid bodies equipped with a locomotion system
• This description includes two main classes of mobile robots:
- Wheeled mobile robots
- Legged mobile robots
 Mobile Robots
• Wheeled Mobile robots typically consist of a rigid body(base
or chassis) and a system of wheels which provide motion
with respect to the ground
• Legged mobile robots are made of multiple rigid bodies,
interconnected by prismatic joints or, often, by revolute
joints
• Some of these bodies form lower limbs, whose
extremities(feet) periodically come in contact with the
ground to realize locomotion
• Large variety of mechanical structures in this class, whose
design is inspired by study of living organisms(biomimetic
robotics)
 Mobile Robots
• Wheeled vehicles represent vast majority of mobile robots
actually used in applications

• The basic mechanical element of such robots is wheel

fixed steerable caster

Three types of conventional wheels

 Mobile Robots
• The fixed wheel can rotate about an axis that goes through
the center of the wheel and is orthogonal to the wheel plane

• The wheel is rigidly attached to the chassis, whose

orientation with respect to the wheel is therefore constant

• The steerable wheel has two axes of rotation. The first is the
same as fixed wheel, while second is vertical and goes
through the center of the wheel

• This allows the wheel to change its orientation with respect

to the chassis
 Mobile Robots
• The caster wheel has two axes of rotation, but the vertical
axis does not pass through the center of the wheel, from
which it is displaced by a constant offset
• Such an arrangement causes the wheel to swivel
automatically, rapidly aligning with the direction of motion
of the chassis
• This type of wheel is therefore introduced to provide a
supporting point for static balance without affecting the
mobility of the base
• For example, caster wheels are commonly used in shopping
carts as well as in chairs with wheels
 Mobile Robots

• The variety of kinematic structures that can be obtained by

combining the three conventional wheels is wide

• The most relevant arrangements are briefly examined next

 Mobile Robots
• In a differential-drive vehicle there
are two fixed wheels with a
common axis of rotation, and one or
more caster wheels, typically
smaller, whose function is to keep
the robot statically balanced

• The two fixed wheels are separately

controlled, in that different values of
angular velocity may arbitrarily be
imposed, while the caster wheel is
passive
 Mobile Robots

• Such a robot can rotate on the

spot(i.e. without moving the
midpoint between the wheels),
provided that the angular
velocities of the two wheels are
equal and opposite
 Mobile Robots
• A vehicle with similar mobility is
obtained using a synchronous drive
kinematic arrangement as shown in
figure

• This robot has three aligned

steerable wheels which are
synchronously driven by two
motors through a mechanical
coupling, e.g., a chain or a
transmission belt
 Mobile Robots
• The first motor controls rotation of the
wheels around the horizontal axis,
thus providing driving force (traction)
to the vehicle

• The second motor controls the

rotation of the wheels around the
vertical axis, hence affecting their
orientation

• Note that the heading of the chassis

does not change during the motion
 Mobile Robots
• Often, a third motor is used in this
type of robot to rotate
independently the upper part of
the chassis (a turret) with respect
to the lower part

• This may be useful to orient

arbitrarily a directional sensor(e.g.
a camera) or in any case to recover
an orientation error
 Mobile Robots
• In a tricycle vehicle shown below there
are two fixed wheels mounted on a rear
axle and steerable wheel in front
• The fixed wheels are driven by a single
motor which controls their traction
• The steerable wheel is driven by
another motor which changes its
orientation, acting then as a steering
device
• Alternatively, the two rear wheels may
be passive and front wheel may provide
traction as well as steering
 Mobile Robots
• A car-like vehicle has two fixed
wheels mounted on a rear axle and
two steerable wheels mounted on a
front axle, as shown
• One motor provides(front or rear)
traction while the other changes the
orientation of the front wheels with
respect to the vehicle
• To avoid slippage, two front wheels
must have a different orientation
when the vehicle moves along a
curve; in particular, the internal
wheel is slightly more steered with
respect to the external one
 Mobile Robots
• There also exist other special types of
wheels, among which is notably the
Mecanum(or Swedish) wheel
• It is conventional wheel with a series
of rollers attached to its circumference
• These rollers having an axis of rotation
at 45 degrees to the plane of the
wheel in a plane parallel to the axis of
rotation of the wheel
• As well as moving forward and
backward like conventional wheels,
they allow sideways movement by
spinning wheels on the front and rear
axles in opposite directions
 Mobile Robots
• It is obviously possible to merge the mechanical structure of
a manipulator with that of a mobile vehicle by mounting the
former on the latter

• Such a robot is called a mobile manipulator and combines

the dexterity of the articulated arm with the unlimited
mobility of the base

• The design of the mobile manipulator involves additional

difficulties, for instance, to the static and dynamic
mechanical balance of the robot, and to the actuation of the
two systems
 Legged Robots
• Legged locomotion is characterized by a series of point
contacts between the robot and the ground

• The key advantages include adaptability and

maneuverability in rough terrain

• Because only a set of point contacts is required, the quality

of the ground between those points does not matter so long
as the robot can maintain adequate ground clearance

• In addition, a walking robot is capable of crossing a hole so

long as its reach exceeds the width of the hole
 Legged Robots
• A final advantage of legged locomotion is the potential to
manipulate objects in the environment with great skill
• An excellent insect example, the dung beetle, is capable of
rolling a ball while locomotion by way of its dexterous front
longs
• The main disadvantages of legged locomotion include power
and mechanical complexity
• The leg, which may include several degrees of freedom,
must be capable of sustaining part of the robot’s total
weight, and in many robots must be capable of lifting and
lowering the leg
 Legged Robots

• Additionally, high maneuverability will only be achieved if

the legs have sufficient number of degrees of freedom to
impart forces in a number of different directions
 Leg Configuration and Stability
• As legged robots are biologically inspired, it is instructive to
examine biologically successful legged systems

• A number of different leg configurations have been successful in a

variety of organisms

• Large animals, such as mammals and reptiles have four legs,

whereas insects have six or more legs

• In some mammals, the ability to walk on only two legs has been
perfected. Especially in the case of humans, balance has
progressed to the point that we can even jump with one leg
 Legged Robots

Mammals 2 or 4 legs Reptiles 4 legs Insects 6 legs

 Leg Configuration and Stability
• Insects and spiders are immediately able to walk when born.
For them, the problem of balance during walking is relatively
simple

• Mammals, with four legs, cannot achieve static walking but

are able to stand easily on four legs. Fawns, for example,
spend several minutes attempting to stand before they are
able to do so, then spend several more minutes learning to
walk without falling

• Humans, with two legs, cant even stand in one place with
static stability. Infants, require months to stand and walk,
and even longer to learn to jump, run and stand on one leg
 Leg Configuration and Stability

• In case of legged mobile robots, a minimum of two DOF is

generally required to :
- move a leg forward by lifting the leg
- swinging it forward

• More common is the addition of a third degree of freedom

for more complex maneuvers
 Leg Configuration and Stability

• In general, adding degrees of freedom to a robot leg

increases the maneuverability of the robot, both
augmenting the range of terrains on which it can travel and
the ability of the robot to travel with a variety of gaits
 Leg Configuration and Stability
• The primary disadvantages of additional joints and
actuators are, of course, energy, control and mass

• Additional actuators require energy and control and they

also add to leg mass, further increasing power and load
requirements on existing actuators

• In case of a multi-legged mobile robot, there is the issue

of leg coordination, or gait control

• The number of possible gaits depends on number of legs.

The gait is a sequence of lift and release events for the
individual legs
 Leg Configuration and Stability

• For a mobile robot with k legs, the total number of possible

events for a walking machine is :
N = (2k – 1)!

• For a bipod walker k = 2 legs, the number of possible events

N is :
N = (2k – 1)! = 3 x 2 x 1 = 6
 Leg Configuration and Stability
• The six different events are:

I. Lift right leg

II. Lift left leg
III. Release right leg
IV. Release left leg
V. Lift both legs together
VI. Release both legs together
 Wheel versus Legged Robots
Wheeled Robots Legged Robots
Pros : Pros:
• easy to construct and control • Discrete contacts with the
• no use off power at stand still ground(good for passing
obstacles)
• Can tackle a large variety of
terrains
Cons:
Cons:
• cannot move in complex • Difficult to design and
terrains construct
• catastrophic failure due to • Difficult to control
motor damage(if few wheels)
• Control required to keep
balance