We are pleased to announce the release of our latest model of Kinarm End-Point Lab, PN 14332.

This updated design includes many “under-the-hood” enhancements that preserve the ‘feel’ and function of the old Kinarm End-Point robot (PN 10288, first released in 2010) while bringing the overall electronics design up to current day standards.

To an experienced user, you may find it difficult to find the differences!

 

 

 

 

 

The differences include:

  • Replaced old ‘incremental’ secondary encoders with ‘absolute’ secondary encoders.
    • A daily calibration is no longer required!
  • Replaced all remaining analog communications in the control system with EtherCAT which will enhance our troubleshooting ability.
  • Removed the ‘PMAC’ (and other end-of-life components) from the design, simplifying the design and eliminating that annoying ribbon cable!
  • Replaced the hardware implementation of the robot motor brake with a software encoded ‘active brake’.
    • In the old robot, you would hear an audible ‘click’ as the brakes engaged when the hand fell below the range of the grip sensor. Now you do not.
    • The newer ‘active brakes’ are only functional when a task is running.
  • Extended the range of the ‘grip sensor’ to cover more of the handle.  (For optimum use, we still recommend the subject grasp the handle at the top to ensure their hand is in the visual plane.)
  • Changed the mounting of the robots and table-top to make installation and maintenance easier.
  • Additional end-stops to prevent the robot from extending outside of the virtual reality region.

The similarities include:

  • Same robot ‘feel’ and function.  We know how important that low-friction feel is for facilitating natural behaviour of the subject.
  • Same robot force specifications:
    • Maximum continuous end-point force 19 N
    • Maximum intermittent (<5 s duration) end-point force: 58 N
  • Same workspace within the virtual reality region.
  • Nearly identical effective end-point inertia 0.8/1.1 kg (minor/major axes).

We hope our users benefit from these many changes while preserving the overall experience of the Kinarm End-Point Lab. Should you be collecting data on both models and are concerned about data comparability, we hope we have addressed those concerns.  If not, please feel free to contact support@kinam.com.