Vibration Compensation for Robot Arms: Approaches and Trade-offs

The landscape

Endpoint vibration is a common limitation in robot applications requiring fast motion followed by a precise stop. Common approaches each carry trade-offs:

Approach	Strengths	Trade-offs
Speed and trajectory tuning	Simple; available on nearly every platform	Reduces throughput and may require application-specific tuning
OEM control features	Integrated, validated, and supported by the manufacturer	Platform-specific, with limited access to models and tuning parameters
Mechanical redesign	Can directly improve stiffness and damping	May add cost, mass, engineering effort, or payload constraints
Conventionally tuned input shaping	Proven feedforward technique with low runtime computational requirements	Requires known modal parameters and may need retuning as configuration and payload change
Reforge Shaper	Automated per-arm identification, configuration-dependent shaping, and a cross-platform deployment layer	Requires calibration, a supported command interface, and revalidation after material mechanical changes

How Shaper works

Shaper productizes model-based feedforward compensation through automated system identification, per-arm dynamic modeling, and a cross-platform runtime. A calibration session identifies the arm's vibration characteristics and generates a configuration-dependent model. Shaper then modifies trajectory commands before they reach the manufacturer SDK to reduce excitation of the identified modes.

Key characteristics:

Per-arm modeling: Characterizes the dynamics of the individual arm rather than relying only on platform-level parameters
Automated identification: Generates the model from measured calibration data instead of requiring manual filter tuning
Feedforward execution: Reduces predicted vibration without adding an external production feedback loop
Reusable model: Executes locally across production runs; material changes to payload, tooling, or mounting may require revalidation
Cross-platform architecture: Integrates between the trajectory planner and supported manufacturer SDKs

Demonstrated performance and architecture

More than 80% vibration reduction in testing
Up to 2x throughput improvement by eliminating settling time overhead
Trajectory shaping and command output demonstrated at 250 Hz
No permanent sensors or mechanical modifications
Cloud-based model identification
Local runtime execution, available as a containerized production deployment
Cloud API and browser-based interfaces for calibration and model management

Evaluation path

Shaper follows the standard Reforge workflow: calibrate (an initial session using an accelerometer), identify (the cloud API generates the model), and control (the local runtime loads the model and shapes trajectories). A pilot on a single arm validates vibration reduction with your own measurement data before broader deployment.

Current platform support: Standard Bots, UFACTORY, Trossen, and Denso.

What this means for your product

If endpoint vibration is limiting the precision or throughput of a product built on an existing robot platform, Shaper provides a software path to improve performance without changing the underlying arm. For robot OEMs, that can expand the application range of an existing platform. For integrators and product builders, it can help meet demanding application requirements while preserving the target hardware architecture and bill of materials.