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Multi-delta design enables lighter, more economical robotic arm
Double- and triple-delta robots are light and flexible, but take up little volume (Photo: Aad van der Geest)
The design of a standard robot arm is, more or less, a mechanized representation of an idealized human arm, replete with elbow and wrist joints. Such designs tend to be unwieldy in confined spaces, and unsuitable for many industrial production line processes. As a result, delta arms – a series of interconnected parallelograms which restrict movement to the X, Y or Z directions and do not rotate – have become popular for use in tight workspaces. But, when faced with a requirement for both flexibility and compactness, a design that incorporates the best of both types is required. That's where the double-delta robot comes in.
The standard delta robot was invented in the early 1980s by Reymond Clavel. When Aad van der Geest, an independent developer of software and electromechanical products, became acquainted with the delta robot for the first time, he was enamored with the design. However, when he attempted to use it in a practical situation, he was instantly aware of its one big problem: the robot is only capable of movement within a very small volume of space.
Traditional robot arms such as those used in heavy industry have large amounts of inertia to overcome and require correspondingly weighty components, but they are also strong and flexible. Van der Geest wanted to find a way to improve on the original lightweight delta creation with the parallel linkages to make it more useful in applications requiring traditional robot arms, but without their weight and inertia.
His idea, like many innovative ideas, was simple: Link multiple delta arms together, but leave the heavy control mechanisms and actuators attached to the base.
To achieve this, the robot's base (complete with all of the extensor and control actuators) is first mounted over the top of the work area. From this base, three arms with joints in the middle extend out to connect to a small triangle-shaped platform. This arrangement is then repeated as many times as required to achieve the desired length. Actuating each of the links in the required sequence will then move the triangular section in the X, Y or Z direction (up or down and along or across).
As this actuation is all done from the base, with the linkages all being controlled from the one point, the arms are able to be made of lighter or composite materials. As a result of this, the parts of the delta robot that are moved have little inertia, which enables very high movement speeds and equally fast acceleration from rest.
Having all the arms connected together to the end-effector also increases stiffness and strength without compromising weight, whilst reducing working volume, which is what van der Geest was aiming for. He has built three working prototypes to prove his ideas – the smallest being just 150 mm (6 in) long, whilst the largest measures over 3.5 meters (11.5 ft) in height.
Though the delta robots described mostly use rotary actuators, van der Geest has recently also experimented with vertical linear actuators in a linear delta design that he has used to create a novel type of 3D printer. According to the creator, these offer the capability of larger build volumes for prices comparable to a conventional 3D printer, and for a comparable investment.
No announcement has been made regarding any potential commercial release.
Source: Aad van der Geest
The short video below shows some of these innovative robot arms in action.
Source: http://www.gizmag.com/delta-robot-lighter-economical-robotic-arm/34343/
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
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An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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