Degree of freedom, Redudency

Why industrial robots are important:

1. Robots can substitute for humans in hazardous work environments
Consistency and accuracy not attainable by humans
Can be reprogrammed


Most robots are controlled by computers and can therefore be interfaced to other computer systems

Robot system components:

1. An Industrial robot contains several electrical and mechanical components acting together as a system.
2. The controller contains an operating system and software that dictates how the system operates and communicates.


Degrees of freedom, DOF:

1. Each joint, moveable axis, on the arm is considered a degree of freedom. (DOF)
– the number of different ways in which a robot arm can move.
2. How many DOF are needed in order to achieve an arbitrary position?
3. How many DOF are needed in order to achieve an arbitrary orientation?
– Roll, Pitch, Yaw
– Pose: position and orientation taken together


Redundancy:

1. Robots with more than 6 DOF or with parallel joints are redundant, which means that they can achieve the same pose in more than one way.
2. Singularity- pose that can be reached in different ways sometimes creates problems.