DEVELOPMENT OF A MODULAR LIGHT-WEIGHT MANIPULATOR FOR HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION IN MEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The article focuses on the design and implementation of mechanics, electronics and control system for a light-weight, modular, robotic manipulator for performing activities that require robot-human interaction in selected medicine-related applications. At the beginning, the functional requirements and physical architecture of such manipulator are discussed. The structure and control systems of the essential manipulator components/joint modules are presented in detail. Next, we introduce the software architecture of the master controller. Finally, examples of the current implementations of the modular manipulator are given.