Thursday, December 03, 2026
Meeting Time: 7:00 pm
Online event (via Zoom): Please register on meetup.com to obtain the Zoom link.
Lecture
Robotic arms and humanoid robots may look complicated from the outside, but many of their movements depend on a fascinating technology known as the intelligent servo. These compact, networked devices are among the basic building blocks used in many industrial, commercial, and educational robots.
This presentation takes a practical look inside that technology. You’ll learn what intelligent servos (also called serial bus servos) are, how they communicate with a robot’s controller, and how they work together to produce coordinated movement.
The presentation will explore:
- How intelligent servos are built into robotic arms and other robot designs
- The hardware and software features common to serial servo systems
- How servos exchange commands and information, including the Lewansoul serial servo messaging protocols
- How inverse kinematics helps calculate the joint positions needed to move a robot arm or its end effector to a desired location
- How these ideas are applied in practice, using a Hiwonder Xarm demonstration
The presentation will connect these fundamentals to the wider robotics industry, including industrial robot manufacturers such as Yaskawa, Fanuc, Universal Robots, and Mitsubishi Electric, as well as companies producing smaller and educational robots.
Many industrial automation systems rely on proprietary technology. This talk will look beyond the black boxes to explain important underlying hardware and software concepts in a way that is useful both to newcomers and to those with experience in robotics, electronics, or automation.
Whether you’re interested in how robots work, considering a robotics project, or already working with automated systems, you’ll come away with a clearer understanding of the technology that makes robotic motion possible.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Sass received a BSEE from MIT and a MSEE and PhD EE from Purdue University. His experience includes microelectronics engineering research and development at RCA, IBM, MOTOROLA, and GENERAL INSTRUMENTS.
He held senior management positions at the latter three companies. He has authored and coauthored refereed papers at conferences, in technical journals, and a technical book chapter, as well as on-line tutorials.
His second career after retirement involved both teaching, and leading and training a robotics programming team. He is currently involved in organizing college-level robotics competitions and personal robotics projects.
Notes
There is no cost to attend this meeting, however, if you are a NYS Professional Engineer and would like to receive Professional Development Hours (PDHs) of continuing education credit, then payment of a $15 fee is required. PDHs will be granted based upon the actual duration of the lecture including any demos and Q&A. You must stay to the end to receive credit. You will also have to properly fill out an Evaluation Form to prove that you attended this lecture.
Click here to open the Evaluation Form. Simply fill it out and click on the “Submit” button.
See these detailed instructions on how to receive PDHs for this lecture.
