Custom electronic subsystems for the Laboratory Telerobotic Manipulator

Conference · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6445198

Glassell, R L; Butler, P L; Rowe, J C ^[1]; Zimmermann, S D ^[2]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
2. TeleRobotics International, Inc., Knoxville, TN (USA)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Station Program presents new opportunities for the application of telerobotic and robotic systems. The Laboratory Telerobotic Manipulator (LTM) is a highly advanced 7 degrees-of-freedom (DOF) telerobotic/robotic manipulator. It was developed and built for the Automation Technology Branch at NASA's Langley Research Center (LaRC) for work in research and to demonstrate ground-based telerobotic manipulator system hardware and software systems for future NASA applications in the hazardous environment of space. The LTM manipulator uses an embedded wiring design with all electronics, motor power, and control and communication cables passing through the pitch-yaw differential joints. This design requires the number of cables passing through the pitch/yaw joint to be kept to a minimum. To eliminate the cables needed to carry each pitch-yaw joint's sensor data to the VME control computers, a custom-embedded electronics package for each manipulator joint was developed. The electronics package collects and sends the joint's sensor data to the VME control computers over a fiber optic cable. The electronics package consist of five individual subsystems: the VME Link Processor, the Joint Processor and the Joint Processor power supply in the joint module, the fiber optics communications system, and the electronics and motor power cabling. 3 refs., 3 figs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER; National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6445198
• Report Number(s): CONF-910223-5; ON: DE91004393
• Resource Relation: Conference: 4. topical meeting on robotics and remote systems, Albuquerque, NM (USA), 24-28 Feb 1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
MANIPULATORS
DESIGN
CABLES
ELECTRIC MOTORS
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
FIBER OPTICS
NASA
ROBOTS
EQUIPMENT
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT
MOTORS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
REMOTE HANDLING EQUIPMENT
US ORGANIZATIONS
420203* - Engineering- Handling Equipment & Procedures
426000 - Engineering- Components
Electron Devices & Circuits- (1990-)