Servosila, a robotics technology company, has launched a new line of robotic arm manipulators specifically targeted at mobile robotics market.
Gary Silver, chief marketing officer for Servosila, says: “Servosila robotic arms are the first manipulators specifically designed for mobile robots. It is very easy to retrofit any existing robotic chassis or a torso with a Servosila robotic arm.”
Servosila robotic arms are attachable payload modules for mobile service robots or other robotic platforms. Servosila robotic arms are typically mounted on a chassis or a torso of a mobile robot and be powered by an on-board power supply system of the host robotic platform.
The robotic arms can be used both outdoors and indoors. Servosila says the arms are water-tight, dust-proof and function properly in the rain and in the snow. Moreover, they are designed to withstand impacts, collisions with obstacles and, in general, the harsh treatment common to mobile robotics applications.
The servo drives and external electrical connectors of the robotic arms are water-tight and dust-proof and have the IP68 rating. The entire arm can be occasionally submersed in water without any adverse effects on its performance. The robotic arms may be operated in cold or hot weather.
Mobile robots tend to bump into things and hit obstacles while on the move. The harsh nature of outdoor mobile robotics applications caused a profound effect on the design of Servosila robotic arms, says the company, especially on the internal structure of servo drives and their harmonic reduction gears.
There are no exposed cables on the outside of the robotic arms that could be torn off when a mobile robot moves through bushes or forests.
Numerous protection measures built into electronic servo controllers and mechanical parts of Servosila robotic arms are designed to ensure reliable operation on-board of outdoor mobile service robots.
Servosila robotic arms are also lightweight by design. For a given lifting capability, Servosila robotic arms have a significantly lower weight than their industrial counterparts, claims the company, which adds that the lower weight of a Servosila robotic arm enables a mobile robot equipped with the arm to operate longer on a single battery charge, keep its center of gravity lower for better balance, climb stairs easier or have a superior mobility.
When not in an active use, Servosila robotic arms can folded into a very compact form that doesn’t occupy much space on the top of a robotic chassis or on the side of a torso. This feature protects the robotic arm of a mobile robot in case of an unexpected collision with an obstacle or whenever a rough terrain is encountered by the mobile robotic platform. The compact folded form also comes handy during transportation.
By folding its robotic arm into the compact form, the robot frees up its working area for other payloads to operate in. This is useful in case the robot is equipped with additional payloads other than the robotic arm, says the company.
