Four categories of elements of a robot system • 1. The manipulator, including its internal or proprioceptive sensors; • 2. the end-effector, or end-of-arm tooling; • 3. external sensors and effectors, such as vision systems and part feeders; and • 4. the controller.
8.9 FORCE SENSING • 1. How many sensors are needed to resolve the desired information? • 2. How are the sensors mounted relative to each other on the structure? • 3. What structure allows good sensitivity while maintaining stiffness? • 4. How can protection against mechanical overload be built into the device?