MECHATRONICS FOR A NEW ROBOT GENERATION

The paper outlines the DLR's mechatronic developments in the robotics area over the last five years, They aim at designing a new multisensor y, modularly configurable lightweight robot generation in a unified an d integral way, A first step in this direction has been the developmen t of a complex multisensory gripper, It turned out to be a key element in ROTEX, the first real robot in space that flew with shuttle Columb ia in early 1993. Sensors and actuators in DLR's new ultra-lightweight robot show up miniaturized integration of mechanics, electronics, and microprocessor control, Joint torque control based on inductive sensi ng is realized in the compact, highly reducing rotational gearings, Wi th optimized carbon-fiber grid structures, optical high-speed informat ion transfer between the joints and all power and signal electronics i ntegrated into the arm, a new extremely lightweight type of robot aris es, Joint control concepts are outlined and a 7 degree-of-freedom vers ion of such a lightweight arm is described, The paper also outlines th e concept of the artificial muscle and its use in the fingers of a new modular articulated robot hand, Sensor-based man-machine interfaces a nd automatic camera guidance by robots in minimal invasive surgery are other topics covered in the paper.