The design and control of a manipulator for safety-critical deployment applications

Development of manipulators that interact closely with humans has been a focus of research in fields such as robot-assisted surgery The recent introduction of powered surgical-assistant devices into the operating theatre has meant that modified industrial robot manipulators have been required to interact with both patient and surgeon Some of these robots require the surgeon to grasp the end-effector and apply a force while the joint actuators provide resistance to motion In the operating theatre, the use of high-powered mechanisms to perform these tasks could compromise the safety of the patient, surgeon and operating room staff. In this investigation, a two degrees-of-freedom (2-DoF) manipulator is designed for the purpose of following a pre-defined path under the direct control of the surgeon. [Continues.]