Robotics

Con?guration is a fundamental classi?cation for industrial robots. Con?guration refers to the geometry of the robot manipulator, i.e., the manner in which the links of the manipulator are connected at each joint. The Robotic Industries Association (RIA, see http://www.roboticsonline.com/) de?nes a robot as “a manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools, or specialized devices, through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks.” With this de?nition, attention here is focused on industrial manipulator arms, typically mounted on a ?xed pedestal or base. Mobile robots and hard automation (e.g., computer numerical control [CNC] machines) are excluded. The emphasis here is on serial-chain manipulator arms, which consist of a serial chain of linkages, where each link is connected to exactly two other links, with the exception of the ?rst and last, which are connected to only one other link. Additionally, the focus is on the ?rst three links, called the major linkages, with only a brief mention of the last three links, or wrist joints, also called the minor linkages.