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Robotic Kinematics & Angular Velocity Mapping (Mechanical Engineering)

A mechanical automation engineer is programming a high-speed robotic sorting arm on an industrial manufacturing assembly line. The base of the arm pivots at an angle θ\theta (in radians) to track an item moving along a parallel linear conveyor belt located at a fixed perpendicular clearance of 1 meter1\text{ meter} from the pivot.

The item moves along the belt such that its horizontal position coordinate xx (in meters) changes over time tt (in seconds) according to:

x(t)=2tt+1(t≥0)x(t) = \frac{2t}{t+1} \qquad (t \ge 0)

The rotational tracking angle θ\theta required to maintain alignment with the item is modeled by:

θ(t)=tan⁡−1(x(t))\theta(t) = \tan^{-1}(x(t))

  1. Express the angular velocity dθdt\frac{d\theta}{dt} using the Chain Rule in terms of dθdx\frac{d\theta}{dx} and dxdt\frac{dx}{dt}.
  2. Differentiate the outer inverse trigonometric function with respect to xx.
  3. Differentiate the rational conveyor position function x(t)x(t) with respect to tt using the Quotient Rule.
  4. Determine the position x(1)x(1) and the required angular tracking velocity of the robotic actuator motor (dθdt\frac{d\theta}{dt}) at t=1 secondt = 1\text{ second}.