Singularity

How it is used

A common cause of errors during linear moves. On six-axis robots, the wrist singularity happens when axes 4 and 6 line up, with axis 5 near zero. Programmers avoid singularities or keep paths away from them, and the controller gives a singularity alarm.

Example sentences

1. The robot stopped with a singularity alarm because axis 5 was almost straight.

2. Tilt the tool by a few degrees to keep the path away from the singularity.

Common collocations

• wrist singularity
• near a singularity
• avoid singularities
• singularity alarm

Related terms

• inverse kinematicsThe calculation of the joint angles a robot needs so that its tool reaches a given position and orientation. One target can have several solutions, or none at all.
• linear moveA robot motion in which the tool center point travels in a straight line from its current position to the target, at a programmed speed.
• kinematicsThe study of motion without looking at the forces that cause it. In robotics, it describes how the joint angles relate to the position and orientation of the tool.
• degrees of freedomThe number of independent ways a robot or a body can move. A typical industrial arm has six, enough to place its tool at a chosen position and orientation within its workspace.
• axisOne controlled direction of motion, either a rotation or a straight-line movement, driven by its own motor. Also a line in a coordinate system, such as the X, Y or Z axis.

More terms: Motion and Kinematics

• work envelope
• tool center point
• coordinate frame
• repeatability
• accuracy
• trajectory