Effects of Joint Clearance on the Motion Accuracy of Robotic Manipulators

Accuracy is one of the key features that improves the quality of robotic manipulators for many industrial and medical applications. Even with an accurate design and manufacturing process, clearance problems in joints cannot be eliminated in articulated systems. This leads to a loss of accuracy in robotic manipulation. In this study, the effects of joint clearance in a robotic system are investigated. The need for the trajectory of end effector is considered to analyse the motion sensitivity. The kinematics and dynamics of a six-DOF robot with joint clearance are evaluated relative to a robot without joint clearance. Different scenarios for clearance values and working periods are performed to fulfil the required motion task. A neural model is also used to predict the trajectory deviations during the working process. The results show that clearance has a significant role in the motion sensitivity of robotic manipulations. Trajectory errors can also be determined by using a dynamic neural predictor with suitable input variables.