A Reconfigurable Manipulator with Schönflies and RCM Motions
Tianye Xu, Shengnan Lyu, Xilun Ding
Abstract
This paper presents the design of a reconfigurable manipulator capable of performing Schönflies and Remote Center of Motion (RCM) operations. The Schönflies mode handles plane objects efficiently, like a SCARA robot, while the RCM mode enables the remote center operation, similar to a Da Vinci robot. Through kinematic reconfiguration, the manipulator achieves multimodal operations without component replacement, and the 1R1T module based on a spline lead screw mechanism ensures a compact structure. The kinematic reconfiguration is analyzed in this paper, and mapping rules from joint space to Cartesian space are respectively enabled in different operation modes. The concise kinematic expression without actuation redundancy simplifies control in both modes. Experimental results confirm the manipulator’s versatility in plane object handling and remote center operations, highlighting its effectiveness across diverse applications.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2025_areconfigurablem,
title = {A Reconfigurable Manipulator with Schönflies and RCM Motions},
author = {Tianye Xu and Shengnan Lyu and Xilun Ding},
booktitle = {IROS 2025},
year = {2025}
}