What are the degrees of freedom typically found in a wrist configuration?

• A. Pan, tilt, and swivel
• B. Roll, Pitch, and Yaw
• C. Translate, rotate, and extend
• D. Spin, skew, and bend

Answer: (B)

A wrist is typically described by three rotational movements that orient the end effector in three-dimensional space. These are roll, pitch, and yaw, corresponding to rotation about the wrist’s three perpendicular axes. With these three axes, the tool can point in any direction and twist to the desired angle, which is the essential function of a wrist.

The other terms don’t match the standard way a robot wrist provides orientation. Translate, extend, or other linear motions describe moving along a path rather than changing orientation. Pan, tilt, and swivel are similar ideas in some contexts but aren’t the conventional naming for the three independent rotational DOFs of a typical wrist. Spin, skew, and bend aren’t standard descriptors for the three rotational axes used in wrist configurations.