A mechanical arm includes a first link connectable to a surface, a second link, a third link, a fourth link, and a fifth link that are coupled to one another in series, and an end effector connectable to the fifth link. The end effector is rotatable about an axis of rotation same as an axis of rotation of the fourth link, and rotatable about an axis of rotation orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the fourth link. The first link, the second link, the third link, the fourth link, and the fifth link are collectively structured and configured to rotate such that the end effector is actuatable to a workspace under the surface.

A locking system for a continuum arm robot system, the robot system includes: a continuum arm robot having a manipulatable tip, a passive robot section through which controls for the manipulatable tip, and at least one ferromagnetic collar, and at least one external controllable electromagnetic device which can be activated so that the ferromagnetic section on the continuum arm robot is attracted to the electromagnetic device.

A driving force transmission mechanism includes a worm gear unit as a brake disposed between a driving motor and an electrically driven input gear, and is configured such that when a driving force is applied from the driving motor to the electrically driven input gear through the worm gear unit, an outer ring which rotates together with the electrically driven input gear becomes locked to an inner ring through rollers so that the driving force is transmitted to an output gear, which rotates together with the inner ring, and when a driving force is applied to a manually driven input shaft, the outer ring and the inner ring are unlocked from each other by an unlocking piece which rotates together with the manually driven input shaft, and thereafter, the driving force is transmitted to the inner ring and the output shaft.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods directed to an industrial robot that can perform mobile manipulation (e.g., dexterous mobile manipulation). A robotic arm may be capable of precise control when reaching into tight spaces, may be robust to impacts and collisions, and/or may limit the mass of the robotic arm to reduce the load on the battery and increase runtime. A robotic arm may include differently configured proximal joints and/or distal joints. Proximal joints may be designed to promote modularity and may include separate functional units, such as modular actuators, encoder, bearings, and/or clutches. Distal joints may be designed to promote integration and may include offset actuators to enable a through-bore for the internal routing of vacuum, power, and signal connections.

The invention relates to a stand device (1) for arranging in an operating room and for locally moving a medical device (20), comprising a braking device (50) having at least one brake (51) that is configured to adjust a degree of freedom of movement of the medical device (20) or a support system (10) holding the device, wherein the stand device (1) further comprises a control device (30) connected to the braking device (50) that is configured to evaluate an external force acting on the stand device (1) or a movement caused by the external force and configured to control the braking device (50) and to adjust the degree of freedom of movement. As a result, the medical device can be moved without operating a switch/pushbutton. Furthermore, the invention relates to a corresponding control device and a method for positioning the medical device.

A method for the conditional stopping of at least one manipulator and a manipulator assembly. The manipulator travels along a path which has a stopping point. In order to be able to stop the manipulator at the stopping point, a braking point on the path is calculated as a function of a speed of the manipulator. If the status of a travel condition variable necessitates braking of the manipulator in the event of exceeding the braking point, the manipulator is braked.

A method, a robot, and a robot controller for automatically scheduling the timing of a plurality of brake tests, that succeed one another at time intervals, at a plurality of brakes of a robot arm equipped with a plurality of joints and a plurality of links connecting the joints to one another and is connected to a robot controller which is designed and configured to control the joints and the brakes, in order to move the robot arm. At least one individual parameter is configured for each of the brakes. A brake test method associated with the robot arm is automatically initialized, and the initialized brake test method is automatically carried out in accordance with the configured parameters.

A method, a robot, and a computer program product for detecting and evaluating a friction status in at least one joint of a robotic arm, wherein, within the scope of a brake test program, at least one motor of a plurality of electric motors is driven automatically in a first rotational direction, wherein a detection of a first motor torque in the driven motor takes place during its rotation in the first rotational direction. The at least one motor is then driven in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction, wherein a detection of a second motor torque in the driven motor takes place during its rotation in the second rotational direction. An automatic evaluation of the first motor torque and the second motor torque takes place in order to obtain the friction torque of the joint associated with the driven motor.

A computer-assisted medical device including a first joint set on an articulated arm, a second joint set on the articulated arm, and a control unit coupled to the first joint set and second joint set. The control unit determines a disturbance to the first joint set caused by a release of one or more brakes and compensates for the disturbance using the second joint set to reduce motion to a position of a point of interest. In some embodiments, the control unit compensates for the disturbance by determining an initial position for the point of interest with respect to a reference point, determining a predicted motion for the point of interest based on the disturbance to the first joint set, and sending a drive command to the second joint set to move the point of interest in a direction opposite to the predicted motion.

Provided is an actuator including: a motor; a brake; a motor casing that accommodates a constituent member of the motor; and a brake casing that accommodates a constituent member of the brake. The motor casing and the brake casing are connected to each other, the brake includes a stator having a coil and a coil case, and a friction plate, a minimum outer diameter of the coil case is 70 mm or less, and a value obtained by dividing a distance from a first end surface of the friction plate on a side farthest in an axial direction from the coil case to a second end surface of the coil case on a side opposite to the first end surface by the minimum outer diameter is 0.2 or less.