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Springer Handbook of Robotics pp 67–86Cite as

Mechanisms and Actuation

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on the principles that guide the design and construction of robotic systems. The kinematics equations and Jacobian of the robot characterize its range of motion and mechanical advantage, and guide the selection of its size and joint arrangement. The tasks a robot is to perform and the associated precision of its movement determine detailed features such as mechanical structure, transmission, and actuator selection. Here we discuss in detail both the mathematical tools and practical considerations that guide the design of mechanisms and actuation for a robot system.

The following sections discuss characteristics of the mechanisms and actuation that affect the performance of a robot. The first four sections discuss the basic features of a robot manipulator and their relationship to the mathematical model that is used to characterize its performance. The next two sections focus on the details of the structure and actuation of the robot and how they combine to yield various types of robots. The final section relates these design features to various performance metrics.

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Abbreviations

ASV:

adaptive suspension vehicle

DOF:

degree of freedom

MEMS:

microelectromechanical systems

MTBF:

mean time between failure

NASA:

National Aeronautics and Space Agency

PI:

policy iteration

SMA:

shape-memory alloy

VR:

virtual reality

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, 94305, Stanford, CA, USA

    Victor Scheinman Prof

  2. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California at Irvine, 92697, Irvine, CA, USA

    J. Michael McCarthy PhD

Authors
  1. Victor Scheinman Prof
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  2. J. Michael McCarthy PhD
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Victor Scheinman Prof or J. Michael McCarthy PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. PRISMA Lab, Dipartimento di Informatica e Sistemistica, Universitá degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, 80125, Napoli, Italy, Via Claudio 21

    Bruno Siciliano Prof.

  2. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, 94305-9010, Stanford, CA, USA

    Oussama Khatib Prof.

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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Scheinman, V., McCarthy, J.M. (2008). Mechanisms and Actuation. In: Siciliano, B., Khatib, O. (eds) Springer Handbook of Robotics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-23957-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-30301-5

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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