A continuous motion robotic device including a first robotic arm, a second
robotic arm, a third robotic arm, and a drive system. The robotic arms
are coaxially arranged, each including an end effector for performing
useful work on an object and can continuously rotate a full 360. The
drive system commonly controls the three robotic arms and defines a
central axis about which the device rotates. The device is capable of
high-speed operation in that the robotic arms are sequentially presented
to various work environment stations via rotation about the central axis.
In one preferred embodiment, each of the robotic arms provides three
degrees of freedom. In another preferred embodiment, each robotic arm
includes at least a first primary joint and a second primary joint, with
the first primary joints being coupled and the second primary joints
being coupled. Alternatively, the primary joints are decoupled.