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A manipulator apparatus comprises an elongated member having a number of arm sections interconnected by rotary actuators and supported by a vertical member rotatably mounted on a console. The other end of the elongated member terminates in a terminal motion actuator adapted to support an article han

A manipulator apparatus comprises an elongated member having a number of arm sections interconnected by rotary actuators and supported by a vertical member rotatably mounted on a console. The other end of the elongated member terminates in a terminal motion actuator adapted to support an article handling member. Each rotary actuator comprises a stepping motor coupled to a harmonic drive device, wherein control pulses fed into the stepping motor will initiate motion which is reduced by the harmonic drive device and then imparted to the respective arm section. The vertical member is similarly controlled. The terminal motion actuator comprises a stepping motor rotatably supported by a rotary actuator comprising a combination of a stepping motor and a harmonic drive device. The terminal motion actuator has mounting means for supporting article handling members. The vertical member is rotatably supported in such manner that free play is totally eliminated. A control arrangement comprises a computer having hardware and software and interconnected with a CRT screen and a control panel. The computer is connected by a cable to bus means which intercouple a plurality of axes controlling devices, modulator connector devices, and data input devices. The computer has an address system to control the operation of the devices which have respective addresses. Each axis controlling device includes a microstep indexer interconnecting the axis controlling device with a motor driver which is connected to a respective stepping motor. The modular connector devices are connected to a plurality of modules which are associated with a particular type of external equipment which cooperates with the operation of the manipulator apparatus.

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Manipulator apparatus comprising a plurality of elongated members serially interconnected by motion joints and defining a manipulator arm terminating in a terminal motion actuator having mounting means adapted to receive an article handling member, a motion actuator associated with each motion joint

Manipulator apparatus comprising a plurality of elongated members serially interconnected by motion joints and defining a manipulator arm terminating in a terminal motion actuator having mounting means adapted to receive an article handling member, a motion actuator associated with each motion joint, each of said motion actuators having a power unit responsive to control pulses and a motion reducing unit for reducing the motion output of said power unit, the power unit and the motion reducing unit of each motion actuator being spaced from each other and mounted on opposite sides of the respective motion joint, means for demountably supporting said power and motion reducing units on said respective motion joint, and a movement coupling means for coupling together the respective power and motion reducing units, each of said power units comprising a DC stepping motor and each of said motion reducing units comprising a harmonic drive device, said terminal motion actuator having a terminal power unit responsive to control pulse for actuating said mounting means.