Gravity balancing reliability and sensitivity analysis of robotic manipulators with uncertainties

This paper presents the gravity balancing reliability and sensitivity analysis of robotic manipulators with uncertainties. The gravity balancing reliability of the robot is defined as the probability that the reduction torque ratio of the robot reduces below a specified threshold. This index is of great importance for assessing and guaranteeing the balancing performance of the robot in the presence of uncertainties in input parameters. In this work, the balancing design for an industrial robot using the gear-spring modules (GSMs) is proposed with the adoption of a simulation-based analysis of the gravity effect of the robot. The Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method with normally distributed variables (i.e., link dimensions, masses, and spring stiffness coefficients) is employed to analyze and simulate the reliability. A case study with an industrial robot is then given to illustrate the reliability performance and the sensibility of the uncertain parameters. It is found that the gravity balancing behavior is achieved even when the uncertainties are applied. The uncertainties could deteriorate the balancing performance when increasing the standard deviations by more than seven percent of their means. The dimensional parameters enjoy the most critical influence on the balancing performance.