We propose a new weight compensation mechanism with a non-circular pulley and a spring. We show the basic principle and numerical design method to derive the shape of the non-circular pulley. After demonstration of the weight compensation for an inverted/ordinary pendulum system, we extend the same mechanism to a parallel five-bar linkage system, analyzing the required torques using transposed Jacobian matrices. Finally, we develop a three degree of freedom manipulator with relatively small output actuators and verified that the weight compensation mechanism significantly contributes to decrease static torques to keep the same posture within manipulator's work space.

In this paper, we propose an autonomous multiagent system composed of an intelligent environment (static agents) and mobile agents (robots). We focus on procedure that autonomous mobile agents construct feasible paths. In the system, not a mobile agent but an environment gathers information and makes decisions. We formulate the optimal condition and an optimization algorithm by means of media agents that play the role of communication links between static agents. We also formulate the appropriate ratio of the media agents in the system. We discuss the efficiency of the system by results of simulations.