Recognition of constitution/configuration and workability judgment for the modular manipulator system, TOMMS

A design concept of TOMMS (Toshiba Modular Manipulator System) has been already proposed to achieve a modular manipulator system which can be assembled into any desired constitution and configuration to provide adaptability to tasks, using as few kinds and types of modules as possible, without special handling such as modification of control software. To realize the concept, we developed a constitution and configuration recognition method of the assembled manipulator using electric resistance which is simple, practical and reliable. Moreover, we developed a workability judgment method considering the degeneracy of degrees of freedom (d.o.f.) of the manipulator and the conditions of the desired task. These methods were applied to the trial system TOMMS-1 and their efficiency and practicality were confirmed.