Which term describes a robot arm designed for high precision in assembly tasks with planar motion?

• A. Maniac
• B. Wabot-2
• C. SCARA
• D. ASIMO

Answer: (C)

High precision in a single plane points to a SCARA manipulator. SCARA arms are designed with joints that move primarily in the XY plane, often with only a limited vertical axis, which makes them exceptionally fast, repeatable, and stiff for straight-line, planar motions. This configuration is ideal for assembly tasks where parts must be picked and placed with tight tolerances on a flat surface. The design minimizes out-of-plane motion, reduces inertia in the working plane, and simplifies control, all of which contribute to high precision.

Other robots mentioned are known for different designs or purposes: humanoid robots aim for walking and versatile 3D manipulation, not specialized planar assembly, so they don’t match the precision-plus-planar-motion combination as well as SCARA does.