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The Genesis S101 robot arm
The Genesis S101 was a simplified, polar co-ordinate version of the P101 - or perhaps the P101 was an upgraded S101, depending on which model was launched first. Either way, the S101 appears to have been in the Powertran Cybernetics range right from the start in 1981. It used cyclindrical co-ordinates and lacked articulated joints and appears to have been dropped from the range around late 1983 soon after the upgraded P102 was launched. This would account for the fact that it was never included in the later Feedback model range.
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A short and simple life
The diagrams above and right show that the basic axis actuating mechanism is a single-acting hydraulic cylinder. The arm is fixed horizontally and moves up and down on a pillar, which also turns through 45 degrees from side to side. The arm extends outwards on a further ram to which are attached wrist and gripper actuating cylinders - making five axes in total.
In Jan 83, Powertran Cybernetics were advertising the S101 5-axis system in kit form at £695 + VAT, while a 5-axis ready-built system cost £1355 + VAT. A 4-axis kit was also available for £635 + VAT but this meant foregoing wrist rotation for the gripper. By comparison, a ready-built 6-axis P101 system cost £1525 + VAT. So a college or university could acquire a considerably more capable arm from the same manufacturer for not much extra budget.
The S101 used the same bulky base unit, controller and teach pendant as the P101, was almost as heavy at 29kgs, retained the original, less versatile flat-bar grippers and offered a vertical arm lift of just 6.6" and 500 grams less lift capacity. Little wonder the S101 sold so poorly that it had been dropped from the range by the end of the year. All of which probably makes it a rare item - I've certainly never come across one.
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Wheeled out in new clothing
At the end of 1981, the mechanical design of the simple S101 arm was used as the basis for a series of articles in a hobby magazine describing the construction of a colourful, Dalek-like wheeled robot arm, designated the M101. The M101 was essentially a mobile S101 in a wacky casing, but swapped that model's swivelling column feature for vertical angular arm movement (see M101 model page).
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