Inertial measurement system for the position control of a flexible robot arm

A method to measure the position of the end of a robot arm using an inertial measurement system was designed and tested. Traditionally large robots determine their positions in the work space by means of sensors affixed to the joints of the arm segments. This method cannot be used in the case of flexible arms, due to the bending of the arm, which in turn influences the position of the arm's endpoint. It was decided to make use of three angular rate sensors to determine the position of the arm's end point, since these sensors measure the displacement of the arm irrespective of the movement of the joints in the arm. It is thus possible to determine the position of the arm's endpoint, irrespective of bending or movement of the joints. The experimental system described consists of three piezoelectric vibrating gyroscopes affixed on a small two-segment robot arm.