THIS PAPER PRESENTS AN INTERESTING DESIGN OF AN OPTICAL WRIST SENSOR FOR DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF THREE DEGREES-OF- FREEDOM (DOF) ORIENTATION. THE DESIGN CONCEPT WAS MOTIVATED BY THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF A BALL-JOINT-LIKE VARIABLE- RELUCTANCE (VR) SPHERICAL MOTOR WHICH OFFERS SOME ATTRACTIVE FEATURES BY COMBINING PITCH, ROLL, AND YAW IN A SINGLE JOINT. THE USE OF SINGLE-AXIS ENCODERS FOR MEASURING THREE DOF ORIENTATION OFTEN REQUIRES A MECHANISM TO HOUSE THE ENCODER WHICH INTRODUCES FRICTION AND STICTION. THE THREE DOF OPTICAL WRIST SENSOR ELIMINATES FRICTION SOURCES AND THUS HAS POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS, INCLUDING A SPHERICAL WRIST SENSOR FOR PLASMA AND LASER CUTTING, AND A TELE-OPERATED JOYSTICK WHERE SMOOTH, ISOTROPIC MANIPULATION IS REQUIRED.
| Number of Pages : | 13 |
| Published : | 06/01/1992 |
