Industrial Robot: Volume 24 Issue 6

Robot welding in shipbuilding

Brian Rooks

Examines the challenges facing the shipbuilding industry today and details the solution offered by a consortium of three German companies. It is based on the prefabrication of…

Putting a snake in the sub

Jack Hollingum

The task: To develop a device that can be put into a cramped nuclear submarine hull, reach through a small aperture into the reactor chamber, and carry out repair tasks in…

An extensible robotic tentacle

Keith Antonelli, Guy Immega

From elephant trunks to octopus legs and human tongues, nature abounds with tentacles that are adept at manipulation. Kinetic Sciences Inc. has developed a robotic tentacle that…

Hexapods to take over?

Jack Hollingum

A man with a mission is Ghassan Matar, managing director of Geodetic Technology International, a company that is beginning to make its mark in rapid prototyping and machine tool…

The McKibben muscle and its use in actuating robot‐arms showing similarities with human arm behaviour

Bertrand Tondu, Pierre Lopez

Describes the McKibben muscle and its major properties. Outlines the analogy between this artificial muscle and the skeletal muscle. Describes the actuator composed of two…

Vision and force/torque sensing for calibration of industrial robots

Grier C.I. Lin, Tien‐Fu Lu

Presents an on‐line calibration methodology for robot relative positioning inaccuracy. This methodology eliminates the need for time‐consuming off‐line calibrations relying on…

A mechatronic wrist unit for precision tasks

Bijan Shirinzadeh

Notes that there are many areas where fine positioning of a robotic device carrying a specialized end‐effector is required. Describes a mechatronic wrist unit with fine motion…