Robots That Generate Planarity Through Geometry

Abstract

Constraining motion to a flat surface is a fundamental requirement for equipment across science and engineering. Modern precision robotic motion systems, such as gantries, rely on the flatness of components, including guide rails and granite surface plates. However, translating this static flatness into motion requires precise internal alignment and tight-tolerance components that create long, error-sensitive reference chains. Here, we show that by using the geometric inversion of a sphere into a plane, we can produce robotic motion systems that derive planarity entirely from link lengths and connectivity. This allows planar motion to emerge from self-referencing geometric constraints, and without external metrology. We demonstrate these Flat-Plane Mechanisms (FPMs) from micron to meter scales and show that fabrication errors can be attenuated by an order of magnitude in the resulting flatness. Finally, we present a robotic FPM-based 3-axis positioning system that can be used for metrology surface scans ($\pm 12$-mm) and 3D printing inside narrow containers. This work establishes an alternative geometric foundation for planar motion that can be realized across size scales and opens new possibilities in metrology, fabrication, and micro-positioning.