A nanoscale positioning apparatus with a large stroke and multiple degrees of freedom and a control method thereof are provided. The nanoscale positioning apparatus includes a base, a plurality of parallel branch chain mechanisms and a working table. Each of the parallel branch chain mechanisms includes an electric cylinder, a micro-motion drive mechanism, a laser interferometer, a grating measuring device, a self-locking upper hinge and a self-locking lower hinge. The top of the base is connected to one end of the electric cylinder through the self-locking lower hinge. The other end of the electric cylinder is connected to one end of the micro-motion drive mechanism. The other end of the micro-motion drive mechanism is connected to the bottom of the working table through the self-locking upper hinge. The positioning apparatus has multiple degrees of freedom, and realizes multi-degree-of-freedom arbitrary position adjustment of the working table through parallel branch chain mechanisms.

A three-rotational-degree-of-freedom connection mechanism required for a robot that can make motion similar to a human has a simple structure, and there is no restriction on motion within a movable range. The three-rotational-degree-of-freedom connection mechanism includes a joint connecting a second member rotatably to a first member with three rotational degrees of freedom including rotation around a torsion axis, three actuators each including variable length links having a variable length, and power sources for generating force changing the lengths of variable length links and three first-member-side link attaching units provided in first member and the second-member-side link attaching units provided on the second member such that variable length links having a twisted relationship with respect to a torsion axis exist in each state within a movable range of joint.

A robot includes elbows connecting forearms rotatably to upper arms with two rotational degrees of freedom. The elbow includes: an elbow joint connecting the forearm and the upper arm with two rotational degrees of freedom; an elbow drive main link; an elbow drive auxiliary link; a forearm-side main link attaching unit attached with one end of the elbow drive main link with two rotational degrees of freedom, and provided in the forearm; an elbow-drive-main-link-side auxiliary link attaching unit attached with one end of the elbow drive auxiliary link with two rotational degrees of freedom, and provided on the elbow drive main link; and two linear actuators for moving two upper-arm-side link attaching units each attached with the other end of either the elbow drive main link or the elbow drive auxiliary link with two rotational degrees of freedom, and provided so as to be movable along the upper arm.

A coordinate positioning machine that includes: a structure moveable within a working volume of the machine, a hexapod metrology arrangement for measuring the position of the structure within the working volume, and a non-hexapod drive arrangement for moving the structure around the working volume. Also, a coordinate positioning machine including a structure moveable within a working volume of the machine, a drive arrangement for moving the structure around the working volume in fewer than six degrees of freedom, and a metrology arrangement for measuring the position of the structure within the working volume in more degrees of freedom than the drive arrangement.

A robot arm includes a second coupling rod fixedly coupled to a second intermediate base at an end of the second coupling rod located closer to the second intermediate base and coupled to a tip base via a second joint at an end of the second coupling rod located closer to the tip base so as to enable the second coupling rod to turn with respect to the tip base, and the first intermediate base and the second intermediate base are coupled together via an intermediate joint so as to be able to turn. The robot arm also includes a turning actuator that turns the second intermediate base with respect to the first intermediate base.

A method of manufacturing an article, including using coordinate measuring machine both to obtain three-dimensional point coordinate measurements of first part of article in place and to position a second part of article in predetermined spatial relationship relative to first part in dependence upon measurements of first part. Predetermined spatial relationship is defined in more than three degrees of freedom. Positioning second part relative to first part includes controlling machine to move second part relative to first part in more than three degrees of freedom. Machine is controlled to hold first and second parts in predetermined spatial relationship while performing an operation to fix both parts in predetermined spatial relationship. Second part is not in direct contact with any other part of article when first and second parts are in predetermined spatial relationship, at least not in a manner which would interfere with or influence or affect predetermined spatial relationship.

Disclosed is a hexapod system including first and second supports and six linear actuators. Each linear actuator has an articulated end on the first and second supports, with a swivel connection with a force-absorbing structure embedded in the first support and a swivel connection to linear actuators articulated on the first support, and one of the first and second supports includes a connector that cooperates with the force-absorbing structure. The connector cooperates with a second force-absorbing structure of a second hexapod system, and the two hexapod systems mount in series.

A card positioning device (10) is described, for card treating devices comprising: a supporting element (1) of the card configured for receiving from external supplying means and for keeping a card to be handled; at least two handling means (3, 23) each rotatable connected to the supporting element (1) of the card, the handling means (3, 23) being controlled by a control unit and configured for handling the supporting element (1) to which they are connected in order to arrange the supported card with an inclination useful for its treatment; a card treating device comprising such positioning device is further described.

A control method for a surgical robotic arm, a computer device and a surgical robotic arm are provided. The control method includes calculating a telecentric fixed point on an executing rod according to a target point and controlling a preoperative positioning assembly to advance a first movable platform of a telecentric manipulating assembly along a first coordinate axis of a movable coordinate system; calculating a first origin coordinate of an origin of the first movable platform in a stationary coordinate system according to the coordinate of the telecentric fixed point and the trajectory coordinate of an end point; calculating the length of a first telescopic element of the telecentric manipulating assembly according to the coordinates of a hinge point of the telecentric manipulating assembly in the stationary coordinate system; and controlling the first movable platform to move to a designated pose.

A parallel kinematic machine, PKM, comprising: a support platform (17a), a first support linkage (SL1); a second support linkage (SL2) and a third support linkage (SL3), wherein the first support linkage (SL1), the second support linkage (SL2) and the third support linkage (SL3) together comprises at least five support links (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13). The PKM further comprises: a tool base (140) comprising a shaft joint (24, 40, 41, 200, 202, 262a, 262b), a tool base shaft (19) and a tool platform (17b). The tool base shaft (19) is connected to the support platform (17a) via the shaft joint (24, 40, 41, 200, 202, 262a, 262b), and wherein the tool platform (17b) and the tool base shaft (19) are rigidly connected. The PKM also comprises one or more tool linkages (TL1, TL2, TL3) each comprising a tool link (26, 31; 29, 32; 38) connected at one end via a tool base joint (25, 28, 37) to the tool base (140), and at the other end connected via a tool carriage joint (27, 30, 39) to a carriage arranged for movement along a path; and wherein each tool linkage (TL1, TL2, TL3) is configured to rotate the tool base shaft (19) around at least one axis relative the support platform (17), by transferring a movement of the respective tool linkage (TL1, TL2, TL3) to the tool base shaft (19).