Simplified Robotic Joint Specification

Abstract

A simplified approach for the specification of a robotic joint and its uplink motion is presented in terms of the unit vectors defining its downlink plane and axis; and scalars defining the joint displacement and the uplink length. Five basic types of joints are defined to describe a robot configuration. These are pitch, yaw, crank, roll and sliding joints. A bend is treated as a frozen pitch, yaw or crank joint with a fixed joint rotation angle.