%0 Journal Article
%T A statically balanced and bi-stable compliant end effector combined with a laparoscopic 2DoF robotic arm
%A J. Lassooij
%A N. Tolou
%A G. Tortora
%A S. Caccavaro
%A A. Menciassi
%A J. L. Herder
%J Mechanical Sciences (MS)
%D 2012
%I Copernicus Publications
%R 10.5194/ms-3-85-2012
%X This article presents the design of a newly developed 2DoF robotic arm with a novel statically balanced and bi-stable compliant grasper as the end effector for laparoscopic surgery application. The arm is based on internal motors actuating 2 rotational DoFs: pitch and roll. The positive stiffness of the monolithic grasper has been compensated using pre-curved straight guided beams that are preloaded collinear with the direction of actuation of the grasper. The result is a fully compliant statically balanced laparoscopic grasper. The grasper has been successfully adapted to a robotic arm. The maximum force and stiffness compensations were measured to be 94% and 97% (i.e. near zero stiffness) respectively. Furthermore, the feasibility of adjusting for bi-stable behavior has been shown. This research can be a preliminary step towards the design of a statically balanced fully compliant robotic arm for laparoscopic surgery and similar areas.
%U http://www.mech-sci.net/3/85/2012/ms-3-85-2012.html