Lifting Column

升降柱Advanced

A vertical linear-motion axis on a mobile base that raises or lowers a robot's torso or arms.

A lifting column is a common vertical linear-motion component on mobile-manipulation robots and wheeled humanoids, usually driven by a motor turning a lead screw or timing belt to move a column or carriage up and down, raising or lowering the arms and head camera as a unit. It solves the working-height problem: an arm mounted at a fixed height struggles to reach both the floor and a high shelf, while adding one lifting axis covers a low-to-high workspace with a single degree of freedom — far cheaper and more stable than building a pair of long legs. Selecting one mainly comes down to travel range, payload, speed, and whether it self-locks when power is cut, so the arms don't drop. It's a common part of a composite robot's design, alongside a mobile base and a robot arm.

ExampleHello Robot's Stretch mounts a vertical lifting column on its base, with a telescoping arm hanging off it, letting it pick things up off the floor and also reach tabletops and counters.

Also called: Lift Column, Linear Lift Module
Related: Mobile Manipulator · Mobile Base (Chassis) · Wheeled Humanoid Robot · Workspace · Prismatic Joint · Ball Screw
Sources: Hello Robot Stretch