Electro-Magnetic Multi-Elbow (EMME)

Okay, so I was laying there awake last night coughing and disturbing CV and my mind was wandering and racing. So I got up and had some water and still couldn't figure out why I was still awake and thinking about the dorky looking object you see above. I downloaded a free trail of Macromedia Freehand and started drawing the object stuck in my head.

Imagine, if you will, that this is only a partial illustration and I'm only a beginner at this drawing tool. Each section can be multiplied as many times as you wish. Just remember that every other joint goes from XY axis then XZ axis then XY axis.... you get the picture. In other words, every next joint is offset by 90 degrees in its swing action.

The joints, like humans, would just flop to the floor if not powered on. They would just sit there in any old mangled direction of how they fell. BUT, when powered on with electro-magnetism locking the joints into place, it can stand rigid at any angle you wish.

There are four functions that would make this arm useful.



1) The CPU. The CPU (brain) would control when, how, where and why a joint would unlock (power down) and lock (power up) into a new position. The CPU may also be processing cameras for eyes so it can strategically maneuver through its environment on its own.



2) Repositioning. The arm would have to initiate a rotation in order to create a new angle or position. This could either be done by gravity or a directional pulse from the electro-magnetic joint itself. If there were several different areas within the joint that would power up separately, you could power up or down areas quickly in order to get the arm to move in a certain direction.



3) Circumference Sensors. When the joints are repositioning, the arm will have to know when to stop in its new position. So, the arm swinging along would send back a signal from the circle of sensors in the joint to the CPU. The CPU will able to read how far the joint has repositioned or at what angle its currently at and then decide when to re-lock the arm.



4) Electro-Magnetic Joint. This is the piece that makes the whole idea work. The joint will be mainly made of man-made magnets that only attract opposites when electricity is run through it. You have seen this in some "cop action movies" where they are in the junk yard and the bad guy picks up the car with a magnet attached to a crane. The bad guy is able to drop the car for great heights when he powers off the magnet holding the car in the air. OR, if you ever worked in a secure building where you must have an access card to power off the magnet holding the door shut. This is all based off the same principles. Powered off and the joint is loose and free to swing. Powered on and the joint is locked into place.


Extra Option

5) Azimuth Rotator. A separate joint put on one end of the arm or between joints to twist the arm on the YZ axis so that all angles and directions can be found and used with the arm. Not in the picture, but it would complete the arm.


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The whole point behind making an arm like this is that it is not driven by gears. Unless I missed something, all of the robotic arms I have seen are gear and servo driven. Using the rules above, you could achieve a simpler, faster more resilient and cheaper arm joint. There would be no gears that crack, break or wear down. No servo motors that die out or break.

The hardest part of this whole idea is controlling the electricity to each joint and maintaining the sensors. Programming the CPU to control the arm would also be a complete headache.

If this already exists and I'm just seeing this out of memory, please tell me, its driving me nuts. If it does not exist. Go ahead and steal the idea because it would be a major pain to create. Happy headaches!

If you could just imagine the applications of such an arm that could swing in almost a 360 degree and 3 dimensional motion! It would kick those Mars rovers butts, Humans would be replaced with EMMEs in factories and the applications could stretch way beyond there. What would you use it for?