A cleaner includes a body forming an external appearance, and a spin-mop cleaning module configured to support the body and including at least one spin-mop provided so as to come into contact with a floor while rotating in a clockwise direction or in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from an upper side. The inclination angle of a lower surface of the spin mop is changeable relative to a horizontal plane.

A piezoelectric drive device for vibrating a vibrating body to make a tip of a protruding part make a rotational motion of drawing an elliptic orbit to thereby drive a driven member, wherein the vibrating body includes a substrate, a driving piezoelectric element configured to vibrate the substrate, and a detecting piezoelectric element configured to detect a vibration of the substrate, the driving piezoelectric element includes a first driving piezoelectric element for making the vibrating body perform a stretching vibration in a first direction, and a second driving piezoelectric element for making the vibrating body perform a flexural vibration in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the detecting piezoelectric element is arranged with the first driving piezoelectric element in the first direction, and there is provided a voltage control section for controlling a magnitude of a voltage to be applied to the first driving piezoelectric element.

A force transmission system as part of a surgical system which may be configured to be a minimally invasive and/or computer assisted surgical system. Operation of the system may be controlled by transmission of a force from a first section to a second section of the system. The first section and the second section may be separated by a partition or a barrier. The first section may be a non-sterile section and the second section may be a sterile section of the surgical system.

A method for determining a dynamic friction torque of a frictional brake device of a joint of an industrial robot, the method including performing a disengaged brake movement of an electric motor of the joint while the brake device is disengaged; determining a disengaged brake torque value based on a torque reference of a control loop of the electric motor during the disengaged brake movement; performing an engaged brake movement of the electric motor while the brake device is engaged; determining an engaged brake torque value based on a torque reference of the control loop during the engaged brake movement; and determining the dynamic friction torque of the brake device based on a difference between the engaged brake torque value and the disengaged brake torque value. A control system and an industrial robot are also provided.

Embodiments relate to robotic arm assemblies. The robotic arm assembly includes an end-effector assembly. The end-effector assembly includes an instrument assembly. The instrument assembly includes an instrument and instrument driven portion. The elongated body includes an instrument central axis. The instrument driven portion includes a first central axis. The instrument driven portion is secured to a proximal end of the instrument in such a way that, when the instrument driven portion is driven to rotate, the instrument rotates relative to the first central axis. The end-effector assembly includes an instrument drive assembly. The instrument drive assembly includes an instrument drive portion. The instrument drive portion includes a second central axis. The instrument drive portion is configured to drive the instrument driven portion to rotate the distal end of the instrument relative to the first central axis. The second central axis intersects with and orthogonal to the first central axis.

A modular robotic vehicle (MRV) having a modular chassis configured for a vehicle utilizing two-wheel steering, four-wheel steering, six-wheel steering, eight-wheel steering controlled by a semiautonomous system or an autonomous driving system, either system is associated with operating modes which may include a two-wheel steering mode, an all-wheel steering mode, a traverse steering mode, a park mode, or an omni-directional mode utilized for steering sideways, driving diagonally or move crab like. Accordingly, during semiautonomous control a driver of the modular robotic vehicle may utilize smart I/O devices including a smartphone, tablet like devices, or a control panel to select a preferred driving mode. The driver may communicate navigation instructions via smart I/O devices to control steering, speed and placement of the MRV in respect to the operating mode. Accordingly, GPS and a wireless network provides navigation instructions during an autonomous operation involving driving, parking, docking or connecting to another MRV.

A variable stiffness actuator comprises a flexure plate which comprises a first cantilevered beam that extends inwards from an outer periphery of the flexure plate. A housing and the flexure plate rotatable about a common joint axis. A first contactor is pivotably secured at a revolute joint to the housing. The first contactor rotates about the revolute joint at a first rotation axis. The first rotation axis offset on the housing from the joint axis. The first contactor engages the first cantilevered beam at a variable angle about the rotation axis to adjust a stiffness of a mechanical connection between the flexure plate and the housing.

A robot system includes one or more combinations of a driving section configured to receive supply of electric power and generate a rotation output of an output shaft and receive supply of a rotating force to the output shaft and generate electric power, a movable section moved by the rotation output, a detecting section configured to detect an angular position of the output shaft, resistor equipment coupled to the driving section, and a switch that can turn on and off coupling of the resistor equipment and the driving section and a control section configured to control the robot system. The control section can execute first braking control targeting the driving section to which the electric power is not supplied, the first braking control calculating speed of the rotation output of the driving section based on an output of the detecting section and causing the switch to turn on and off the coupling of the resistor equipment and the driving section at timing determined in a time-series manner according to target deceleration of the driving section and the speed of the rotation output.

A multi-axis actuator according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a rectangular parallelepiped housing having first and second output surfaces vertical to each other, and first and second facing surfaces, which are respectively arranged in parallel to the first and second output surfaces so as to be vertical to each other; a first output gear for rotating around a first rotary shaft vertical to the first output surface; a second output gear for rotating around a second rotary shaft vertical to the second output surface, wherein the second rotary shaft is positioned at a height different from that of the first rotary shaft; and first and second driving motors provided inside the housing so as to respectively provide rotating power to the first and second output gears.

A robot arm includes a first arm having a housing with a first stopper provided therein, a second arm rotating relative to the first arm, and a joint unit including an outer ring portion fixed to the second arm, a second stopper provided in the outer ring portion and restricting rotation of the second arm relative to the first arm in cooperation with the first stopper, and an inner ring portion fixed to the first arm and rotating coaxially with the outer ring portion, wherein the housing has a first opening portion opening toward the outer ring portion in a position facing the outer ring portion, and the first stopper projects from the first opening portion.