<title>Closed-loop laser beam alignment along active robot arm</title>

Abstract

Several applications require agile and accurate positioning of a high power laser beam. Agile positioning is generally accomplished via manipulation of some jointed support apparatus such as a robot arm. The size and weight limitations of high power lasers prevent placement of the laser at the final node of the robot arm.Historically, high power laser beams have been guided from the laser to the final node through a fiber optic link or through alignment-sensitive mirror trains. The use of fiber optics constrains the laser wavelength, the laser beam quality, and the degree of motion per arm joint; complex mirror trains may constrain motion also and they require frequent re-alignment.Hughes has developed a continuous, automatic, closed loop, alignment system for robot arm