Development of wireless power transfer system for robot arm with rotary and linear movement

Abstract

Warehouse automation systems that use robots to save human labor are becoming increasingly common. In a previous study, a picking system using a multi-joint type robot was developed. However, articulated robots are not ideal in warehouse scenarios, since inter-shelf space can limit their freedom of motion. Although the use of linear motion-type robots has been suggested as a solution, their drawback is that an additional cable carrier is needed. The authors therefore propose a new configuration for a robot manipulator that uses wireless power transmission (WPT), which delivers power without physical contact except at the base of the robot arm. We describe here a WPT circuit design suitable for rotating and sliding-arm mechanisms. Overall energy efficiency was confirmed to be 92.0%.