{"paper":{"title":"Linear motion (R-FLEX) for minature 6.2 mm pitch optical fiber position robots with polar (R-theta) kinematics","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","headline":"","cross_cats":[],"primary_cat":"astro-ph.IM","authors_text":"Andrew P. Hope, David J. Schlegel, Joseph H. Silber, Michael S. Schubnell, Nicholas R. Wenner, Robert W. Besuner, William V. Shourt","submitted_at":"2026-07-15T00:48:56Z","abstract_excerpt":"R-FLEX is a compact, low-part-count flexure-based radial positioning mechanism designed for the next generation of massively parallel fiber-fed spectroscopic telescope instruments. Current instruments such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) employ 5,000 robotic fiber positioners at 10.4 mm pitch, whereas future surveys require 2.5-3x higher packing density, necessitating new positioning technologies. The R-FLEX mechanism converts small rotations at the flexure base into large, nearly tilt-free radial motion at the fiber tip, achieving naturally low-backlash linear motion within"},"claims":{"count":0,"items":[],"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"source":{"id":"2607.13358","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":null,"model_set":{},"created_at":null,"strongest_claim":"","one_line_summary":"","pipeline_version":null,"weakest_assumption":"","pith_extraction_headline":""},"integrity":{"clean":true,"summary":{"advisory":0,"critical":0,"by_detector":{},"informational":0},"endpoint":"/pith/2607.13358/integrity.json","findings":[],"available":true,"detectors_run":[],"snapshot_sha256":"c28c3603d3b5d939e8dc4c7e95fa8dfce3d595e45f758748cecf8e644a296938"},"references":{"count":0,"sample":[],"resolved_work":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}