Every main type of robot, drawn the way engineers draw it: a kinematic diagram, its DH and DHM tables, and a 3D model you move with sliders. No prior knowledge needed.
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Each tag is one joint. A joint turns (R) or slides (P): its value is an angle or a distance. Six joints are enough to put a tool anywhere, at any angle.
The highlighted joint moves, the others wait.
02 / 04
Attach a frame to every joint: z along the joint axis, x along the common perpendicular. Four numbers per joint describe the whole robot. This is the DH table, and the angles in it are live.
| i | θ | d | a | α |
|---|
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Move your pointer. The blue marker is the target, and the robot solves its inverse kinematics on every frame to put the tool on it.
04 / 04
Four poses computed by the same solver: above the cube, on the cube, above the second pad, and on it. The robot pages let you take control.
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R-R-R3 degrees of freedom, serial arm
The simplest arm that can reach a point in space. The best place to learn frames, DH tables and the Jacobian.
2 / 8
P-P-P3 degrees of freedom, three sliding axes
Three sliding axes at right angles (x, y, z), like a 3D printer or a CNC machine.
3 / 8
R-R-P-R4 degrees of freedom, serial arm
Stiff in the vertical direction, flexible in the horizontal plane. Fast and precise assembly from above.
4 / 8
6 × R6 degrees of freedom, serial arm
The classic robot of the car factory: any position, any orientation, thanks to its spherical wrist.
5 / 8
6 × R6 degrees of freedom, works next to people
Real UR5 numbers, an offset wrist and force limiting: a robot that can work without a fence.
6 / 8
3 × Rparallel robot, 3 arms and 1 optional rotation
Three light arms and parallelograms hold a small platform: extremely fast, but a small workspace.
7 / 8
2 wheelsmobile robot, x, y and heading
A robot that moves around instead of reaching: wheel speeds, turning circle, odometry and programs.
8 / 8
5 wheelsreference and drive simulator
Fixed, castor, omni, Mecanum and spherical wheels; differential, Ackermann, 3-omni and Mecanum drives; sensors and navigation.
You can read the pages in any order. If you are new, follow this roadmap from top to bottom and tick every page you finish.
| Robot | Joints | DOF | Speed | Payload | Workspace | Typical job |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-DOF arm | R-R-R | 3 | Medium | Low | Sphere-like | Teaching, light handling |
| Cartesian gantry | P-P-P | 3 | Medium | Medium to high | Box | CNC, 3D printing, picking |
| SCARA | R-R-P-R | 4 | High | Low to medium | Cylinder, flat | Assembly from above |
| 6-axis industrial | 6 × R | 6 | High | 5 to 1000+ kg | Large sphere | Welding, painting, handling |
| Cobot | 6 × R | 6 | Limited (safety) | 3 to 25 kg | Sphere, 0.5 to 1.7 m | Work next to people |
| Delta | 3 × R (parallel) | 3 + 1 | Very high | 0.1 to 8 kg | Dome, small | Conveyor pick and place |
| Mobile (differential) | 2 driven wheels | 3 (x, y, θ) with 2 inputs | Medium | Depends on the base | Unlimited floor | Transport, cleaning |
Designed, drawn and coded by
Robotics Atlas is a learning project about robots, their kinematics and their uses. Made with care, three.js and a lot of coffee.
GitHub repository