Compare and contrast an optical incremental encoder against a potentiometer by giving the advantages and disadvantages for an application involving the sensing of a rotatory motion.

A schematic diagram for the servo control loop of one joint of a robotic manipulator is given in Figure P6.49.
The motion command for each joint of the robot is generated by the robot controller, in accordance with the required trajectory. An optical incremental encoder is used for both position and velocity feedback in each servo loop. Note that for a six-degree-of freedom robot, there will be six such servo loops. Describe the function of each hardware component shown in the figure and explain the operation of the servo loop.

FIGURE P6.49

After several months of operation, the motor of one joint of the robot was found to be faulty. An enthusiastic engineer quickly replaced the motor with an identical one without realizing that the encoder of the new motor was different. In particular, the original encoder generated 200 pulses/rev whereas the new encoder generated 720 pulses/rev. When the robot was operated, the engineer noticed an erratic and unstable behavior at the repaired joint.Discuss reasons for this malfunction and suggest a way to correct the situation.