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Modeling & Simulation of Spherical Robot Configuration Using Solidworks & Matlab

The document describes modeling and simulating a spherical robot configuration using Solidworks and Matlab. It discusses how spherical robots have a spherical work envelope that can be positioned in polar coordinates, and are more sophisticated than Cartesian or cylindrical robots but have less complex control solutions. It then explains the basic joints that make up the spherical configuration, shows the Solidworks model, provides code to simulate the robot's movement in Matlab, and discusses advantages like maneuverability and ability to recover from collisions, and disadvantages like not being able to overturn.

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660 views

Modeling & Simulation of Spherical Robot Configuration Using Solidworks & Matlab

The document describes modeling and simulating a spherical robot configuration using Solidworks and Matlab. It discusses how spherical robots have a spherical work envelope that can be positioned in polar coordinates, and are more sophisticated than Cartesian or cylindrical robots but have less complex control solutions. It then explains the basic joints that make up the spherical configuration, shows the Solidworks model, provides code to simulate the robot's movement in Matlab, and discusses advantages like maneuverability and ability to recover from collisions, and disadvantages like not being able to overturn.

Uploaded by

karthi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Modeling & Simulation of Spherical Robot

Configuration using Solidworks & Matlab


Aim:
To model and simulate the spherical configuration of robots using Solidworks & Matlab.

Introduction:
Spherical robots are also known as polar robots. They have spherical work envelopes that can be positioned in a
polar coordinate system. These robots are more sophisticated than Cartesian and cylindrical robots, while control
solutions are less complicated than those of articulated robot arms. This may be the reason why sometimes they are
used as a base for robot kinematics exercises.

Fig.1.Spherical robot configuration

The spherical robots structure is seen in fig1. It has one twisting joint, one rotary joint and one linear. Thus a
spherical work envelope is formed. It is not a sphere, but reachable places can still be calculated in a polar
coordinate system. As you can understand, there can be more than three joints. However, these three are the basic
ones that form the work envelope. Further joints would add more flexibility, but wouldn't radically change the
reachable area. For example, if the gripper could rotate, this would be a 4-axis robot while the work envelope
wouldn't change at all. Robots of this kind have a near-spherical work envelope. Most modern industrial robots are
derivatives of this type.

Procedure:
MATLAB is a powerful environment for linear algebra and graphical presentation that is available on a very
wide range of computer platforms. The core functionality can be extended by application specific toolboxes. The
Robotics Toolbox provides many functions that are required in robotics and addresses areas such as kinematics,
dynamics, and trajectory generation. The Toolbox is useful for simulation as well as analyzing results from
experiments with real robots, and can be a powerful tool for education.

S.no
1
2
3
4
5

Symbol

Description
Link twist angle (rad)
Link length
Joint angle (rad)
Link offset
Joint type; 0 for revolute, non-zero for prismatic

Matlab code:
l1=Revolute('d', 1.2, 'a', 0.3, 'alpha', pi/2);
l2=Link([0 0 1 0]);
l3=Link([0 0 1 0]);
y=SerialLink([l1 l2 l3],'name','trl');
q=[1:1:100];
q1=[0,0,0];
q2=[-pi,0,0];
traj=jtraj(q1,q2,q);
y.plot(traj);

Simulation output:

Solidworks model:

Advantages of spherical robots:


There are many advantages to a spherical robot design. First of all, they are very maneuverable. They can move
in any direction. This increases the options for navigating around objects and prevents the robot from getting stuck
in corners. Traditional wheeled robots have the ability to be rendered useless if they land upside-down. This is not
the case with a spherical robot. Stairs and ledges are also a problem for traditional robots, and a spherical robot can
overcome these conditions very well. This feature also allows them to be thrown or dropped. They have a great
capability to recover from collisions with obstacles. The sensors, electronics, and mechanisms are all protected. This
would be useful in a swarm application.

Disadvantages of spherical robots:


Spherical robots cannot be overturned.

Result:

Thus the spherical configurations of robot were modeled and simulated using Solidworks & Matlab.

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