KINETIC STREET FURNITURE WITH ARM-Z
Price
Free (open access)
Transaction
Volume
209
Pages
8
Page Range
15 - 22
Published
2022
Paper DOI
10.2495/HPSU220021
Copyright
Author(s)
ELA ZAWIDZKA, MACHI ZAWIDZKI
Abstract
Arm-Z is a concept of a hyper-redundant manipulator based on linearly joined sequence of congruent units. Each unit has only one degree of freedom (1-DOF), namely a twist relative to the previous unit in the sequence. Since each module is identical, Arm-Z has a potential of being economical and robust: the modules can be mass-produced and, in case of failure, easily replaced. However, the control of Arm-Z is nonintuitive and difficult, thus it usually requires application of computational intelligence methods. This paper presents a number of concepts for kinetic street furniture based on Arm-Z: a spiral column of adjustable height, a sun-tracking shade/solar energy harvester, bio-mimicry sculpture, kinetic sprinkler/fountain. The proposed concepts are low-tech in principle. Therefore in each case, the first module in the sequence is fastened to a solid base (ground). For simplicity, the drive is applied directly to the first module and transferred to subsequent units by internal gears. Each module is equipped with a set of cylindrical and bevel gears with straight teeth with involute profile (for connecting the modules).
Keywords
Arm-Z, extremely modular system, low-tech, street furniture