Introduction

Industry-specific robots perform several tasks such as picking and placing objects, movement
adapted from observing how similar manual tasks are handled by a fully-functioning human
arm. Such robotic arms are also known as robotic manipulators. These manipulators were
originally used for applications with respect to bio-hazardous or radioactive materials or for
use in inaccessible places.
A series of sliding or jointed segments are put together to form an arm-like manipulator that
is capable of automatically moving objects within a given number of degrees of freedom.
Every commercial robot manipulator includes a controller and a manipulator arm. The
performance of the manipulator depends on its speed, payload weight and precision.
However, the reach of its end-effectors, the overall working space and the orientation of the
work is determined by the structure of the manipulator.

Kinematics of a Robotic Manipulator

A robot manipulator is constructed using rigid links connected by joints with one fixed end
and one free end to perform a given task (e.g., to move a box from one location to the next).
The joints to this robotic manipulator are the movable components, which enables relative
motion between the adjoining links. There are also two linear joints to this robotic
manipulator that ensure non-rotational motion between the links, and three rotary type joints
that ensure relative rotational motion between the adjacent links.
The manipulator can be divided into two parts, each having different functions:
Arm and Body The arm and body of the robot consists of three joints connected together
by large links. They can be used to move and place objects or tools within the work space.
Wrist The function of the wrist is to arrange the objects or tools at the work space. Them
structural characteristics of the robotic wrist includes two or three compact joints.

Robotic Manipulator Arm Configuration

Manipulators are grouped into several types based on the combination of joints, which are as
follows:

Cartesian geometry arm This arm employs prismatic joints to reach any position
within its rectangular workspace by using Cartesian motions of the links.

Cylindrical geometry arm This arm is formed by the replacement of the waist joint
of the Cartesian arm with a revolute joint. It can be extended to any point within its
cylindrical workspace by using a combination of translation and rotation.

Polar/spherical geometry arm When a shoulder joint of the Cartesian arm is replaced
by a revolute joint, a polar geometry arm is formed. The positions of end-effectors of
this arm are described using polar coordinates.

Articulated/revolute geometry arm - Replacing the elbow joint of the Cartesian arm
with the revolute joint forms an articulated arm that works in a complex thick-walled
spherical shell.

Selective compliance automatic robot arm (SCARA) This arm has two revolute
joints in a horizontal plane, which allow the arm to extend within a horizontal planar
workspace. The TH650A SCARA Robot by TM Robotics is a great example to
demonstrate pick and place functionality of robotic manipulators:

Wrist Configuration
The two main types of wrist design include:

Roll-pitch-roll or spherical wrist

Pitch-yaw-roll.

The spherical wrist is more common because of its mechanically simpler design. It has 6
degrees of freedom, and consists of a Hooke shoulder joint followed by a rotary elbow joint.

Applications
Some of the major applications of robotic manipulator are discussed below:

Motion planning,

Remote handling

Micro-robots

Humanoid robots

Machine tools.

Robots used in industries mostly perform the tasks of picking and placing different things.
These functions are similar to that of a human arm, hold something and then place and fit that
at the require spot. Such robotic arms are also called as manipulators. They have different
types of Base Bodies.

Structure of Industrial Robots or Manipulators

Robotic arms are used in assembly lines to pick the components of products to be assembled
and place and fit them at the right place. Such as in a production line of canned food, lids are
placed, cans are picked by robotic arms and placed in the container packets or like in the
assembly line of cars, the frames of cars move on the conveying system one by one and
robotic arms or manipulators working around the frame fit different components on to it and
finally completed cars come out of the assembly line.
The functions that can be performed by a manipulator, the reach of its end effectors, the
orientation in which it can work and the overall working space for a manipulator is
determined by the structure of the body of the manipulator. Also the types of joints used to
connect different members of the manipulator along with the basic Body of the robot
determine the overall degrees of freedom of the manipulator in its motion.
The body of the manipulator moves the end effectors to the target point where the object is
grasped by the gripper fitted to the wrist. Wrist orients the object in the required direction.
The wrist is fitted on the end point of the manipulator. The base Body, wrist and gripper
constitute the basic structure of a manipulator.

Types of Base Bodies of Manipulators

Based on the working space, axes of movements and degrees of freedom of the manipulator
as whole the Base Bodies can be classified into different types.
Linear: This type of manipulator arm as the name suggests can move along only a single
direction. Linear manipulator base body comprises of one prismatic joint, that is, a slider
which can move only along an axis. Such robots can only perform simple tasks like picking
and placing objects from one spot to other. This can be the most basic type of manipulator
possible. The range of this manipulator arm is limited by the length of the prismatic joint. The
motion of the linear base body can be defined by a single variable and can be obtained by one
linear actuator.
This is a very basic body type of the robots. In the next article I will list some more Base
Body types of Industrial Robots or Manipulators.
Robotics
Robots are not just machines, they are many steps ahead a typical machine. Robots like
machines can perform different tough jobs easily but the advancement is that they can do it
by their own. Once programmed robots can perform
Robotics: Structure of Industrial Robots or Manipulators: Types of Base
Bodies II
In the last article the two most basic types of base bodies of manipulators, Cartesian and
cylindrical, were discussed. In this article we will take up some more types of industrial
robots or manipulators base bodies.

Types of Base Bodies of Manipulators

As the number of members and the degrees of freedom of the joints connecting those
increases the robotic arm can work in more complex space and orientation.
Planer: The planer base body of a manipulator can be seen as one linear manipulator
attached to another linear manipulator with axes of the two manipulators being perpendicular
to each other in the same plane. Thus the end of the manipulator can move along two
mutually perpendicular axes and can cover all the points in the plane defined by the range of
motion along the two axes. The motion of the planer base body can be defined by two
variables and motion can be achieved by two linear actuators. Such manipulator has two
degrees of freedom.
Examples of tasks planer manipulators can do; curve tracing or printing on sheets, metal
sheet cutting for specified design, welding on a planer metal piece or drilling at different
spots in a plane.
Cartesian: Such robot body allows the manipulator to move along the three Cartesian axes
only, which are the three mutually orthogonal axes. The working space of such robots will be
a cuboid whose dimensions are defined by the range of motion of the manipulator along each
axis. Cartesian robot base consists of three prismatic joints arranged perpendicular to each
other. It requires three variables to define its position, has equal number of actuators and has
the same number of degrees of freedom.

One such example can be the hoisting robot used in a workshop, shipping yard or
construction site which moves on rails and the hoisting hook can be moved up and down
through the cables.
The types of robot base bodies discussed so far only comprise of prismatic joints and the
motion along any of the axes is only linear, there is no rotary motion. Though the end
effectors of a Cartesian manipulator can reach every point defined in the space but still it is
not used for every purpose. It will be slow for moving between different points in the space
and cannot effectively orient its end effectors properly for certain jobs. Thus revolute and

cylindrical joints are included in the base body to obtain more efficient structure of
manipulators.
In the next article the manipulator bases with revolute and cylindrical joints along with
prismatic joints will be introduced.
Robotics
Robots are not just machines, they are many steps ahead a typical machine. Robots like
machines can perform different tough jobs easily but the advancement is that they can do it
by their own. Once programmed robots can perform required