The application and control of brushless DC motors in high power robotic joints

The author discusses the application of a brushless DC motor to a high power to volume ratio robotic joint. The ease of application ensures that this type of motor will be more widely used in the future. The design discussed has a number of novel features, in particular the location of the motor in the cup of a harmonic drive. However the thermal characteristics of this design could pose a problem in certain applications without internal cooling. To date the prototype joint has performed to specification with few problems