degrees of freedomDegrees of freedom are specific, defined modes in which a mechanical device or system can move. The number of degrees of freedom is equal to the total number of independent displacements or aspects of motion. A machine may operate in two or three dimensions but have more than three degrees of freedom. The term is widely used to define the motion capabilities of robot s. Consider a robot arm built to work like a human arm. Wrist motion can occur as pitch (up and down) or yaw (left and right). Wrist rotation (roll) may also be possible. Elbow motion can occur as pitch only. Shoulder motion can take place as pitch or yaw. It may be possible to rotate the entire structure around a defined axis. Such a robot arm has five to seven degrees of freedom. If a complex robot has two arms, the total number of degrees of freedom is doubled. In an android , additional degrees of freedom exist in the end effector s, the legs and the head. Fully functional androids and multi-legged mobile robots can have more than 20 degrees of freedom. An example is Project Nao , an intelligent android designed for the consumer market. Nao, which looks superficially like a large space-age doll, has 25 degrees of freedom.
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Nov 08, 2007 |
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