Mechanism and control of robotic arm using rotational counterweights

This paper proposes an actuation mechanism of robotic arms using rotational counterweights. The robotic arm is driven by gravitational and inertia forces of the counterweight mounted on links. The joints of the robotic arms are able to rotate freely though this robot does not have any actuators on joints. Thereby, the robot has high joint flexibility. Additionally, the counterweight system reduces the moment applied to base link caused by gravity effect since the posture of the arm keeps a gravitational equilibrium state statically. Therefore, it is expected that the robotic arm is utilized in narrow and high altitude environment or on small vehicles. This paper also proposes a control method of the new robotic arm. The control method realizes precise position control of joint angle. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by numerical simulations and experiments using a prototype.