The present invention relates to a cutter replacement robot and its adaptive cutter system for tunnel boring machine and belongs to the field of tunnel construction equipment design. Traditional cutter system adopts multi-wedge fastening mode, and the fasteners are many and separate from each other. It is only suitable for manual disassembly and assembly. So, robot can not disassemble and assemble cutter quickly. For the current cutter weight, the current load-weight ratio of industrial robots can not meet the narrow space inside the cutter head of the TBM, so mature industrial robots can not change the all of cutters. Based on the above situation, according to the internal space structure of the cutter head of the TBM, the invention designs a new type of cutter-changing robot and three type cutter systems to realize the rapid disassembly and assembly of the cutter.

A motorized arm for a robotic medical system can include a shoulder coupled to a column of a table by a translational joint that allows translation of the shoulder along the column, a first link rotationally coupled to the column, a second link rotational coupled to the first link, and an arm support coupled to a distal end of the second link. The arm support can be configured to support one or more robotic arms usable during a robotic medical procedures. The motorized arm can include actuators for driving rotation of the links and arbors that can be engaged to increase the torsional stiffness of the motorized arm. The motorized arm can move the arm support between a stowed position below the table to a deployed position.

A horizontal articulated robot includes a base, a force detection unit provided in the base, a first arm coupled to the base and pivoting about a first pivot axis, a second arm coupled to the first arm and pivoting about a second pivot axis, a third arm coupled to the second arm, pivoting about a third pivot axis, and moving in an axial direction of the third pivot axis, a control unit that controls an action of the first arm, the second arm, or the third arm based on a detection value of the force detection unit, and an operation unit having a third arm operation part for operation of the third arm and a teaching point registration operation part for operation of registration of a position of a control point as a teaching point using the control unit, and provided in the second arm.

A collapsible, versatile, multiple axis Cartesian robot system is aimed directly at solving the issue of the inverse relationship of robot portability to workspace volume. The collapsible, multiple axis Cartesian robot, minimizes the collapsed size of the robot while maximizing the workspace volume in the use of multiple, alternating linear and rotary actuators.

Methods and systems for controlling a snake-arm robot. In an embodiment, a server computer receives real-time image data associated with at least one of an operating environment and a location of a workpiece from an optical sensor mounted on a robot head of a snake-arm robot, and receives, input data describing a desired pose of the robot head from a user device. The server computer then computes a desired velocity of the robot head using an image Jacobian, translates the desired velocity of the robot head into incremental displacement data and rotation data within a control cycle, computes a position of each of a plurality of links comprising a snake-arm of the snake-arm robot to follow motion of the robot head, computes a current position of each of the plurality of links utilizing a forward dynamics model, and computes force and torque data required to move at least one of a plurality of joints connecting the links to move the snake-arm robot to the desired pose. The method also includes generating movement instructions based on the force and torque data, and transmitting the movement instructions to at least one of a drive motor associated with an introduction device and a plurality of controllers associated with servo-motors operably connected to joints connecting the links of the snake arm causing the robot head to move to the desired pose.

The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a rotary actuator that includes a housing defining an arcuate chamber comprising a cavity, a rotor arm configured for rotary movement, an arcuate-shaped first piston disposed in said housing for reciprocal movement in the arcuate chamber, where a seal, the cavity, and the piston define a pressure chamber that includes part or all of the arcuate chamber, and a portion of the piston contacts the rotor arm, and a rotor assembly rotatably surrounding said housing and having a rotary output tube about the axis, wherein the rotor arm extends radially outward to the rotary output tube and the rotor arm is coupled to the rotary output tube.

A medical instrument may include multiple joint members and at least two pairs of tendons connected with the joint members and adapted to move at least one of the joint members relative to at least one other joint member. Each joint member may include a main structural body that may be a single piece and includes at least one convex contact surface. A main portion of each tendon contacts the medical instrument only on the convex contact surfaces.

A medical instrument may include multiple joint members and at least two pairs of tendons connected with the joint members and adapted to move at least one of the joint members relative to at least one other joint member. Each joint member may include a main structural body that may be a single piece and includes at least one convex contact surface. A main portion of each tendon contacts the medical instrument only on the convex contact surfaces.

Underactuated robotic manipulators may include a plurality of links rotatably or rigidly coupled to one another at a plurality of joints. The links may include driven links that are driven to grasp an object to be held, driving links that are actuated by an actuator to drive movement of the driven links, and a plurality of connecting links that couple the driving links to the driven links. Such manipulators may include a plurality of driven links and associated touch points, and a plurality of independent degrees of freedom, and be driven by a single actuator, making them underactuated.

The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a multi-axis rotary actuator that includes a first rotary piston actuator configured to controllably actuate a first pivotal joint between a first linkage to a second linkage about a first axis, and a second rotary piston actuator configured to controllably actuate a second pivotal joint connecting the second linkage to a third linkage about a second axis.