Kinematics analysis of a robotic zipper prototype for miniaturisation

This paper presents the mechanism and kinematics analysis of a robotic zipper prototype. This generic version of the robotic zipper is dedicated to automatically open and close the zipper which could be beneficial to elderly, people with physical disability, upper limb reduction deficiencies (ULRD), visual impairment, or developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The mechanism and kinematic analysis were conducted based on the working prototype build using Meccano. Results from this study are used to select the DC motor for the miniature model of this robotic zipper. Finally, the analysis managed to define the desired amount of DC motor torque and power for the miniature model and drive the robotic zipper to function as an assistive device for zipping or unzipping process.