This paper presents a method for analyzing the performance of gravity-balanced serial robotic manipulators under dynamic loads. The analysis is executed by adopting torque, power, and energy reduction indices, which are formulated from unbalanced and balanced states. The significance of this method is that it can provide a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of a gravity-balanced robotic manipulator, with consideration of the dynamic effects. This paper uses a three-degree-of-freedom planar serial manipulator as a case study. The gravity-balanced design for the manipulator is realized by installing a compact gear-spring module onto each link. A numerical example of a manipulator shows that dynamic loads degrade the gravity-balanced performance, especially in situations with a high velocity and acceleration or a considerable variation of the unbalanced static load. Moreover, this work also proposes a level-to-level design procedure to improve the gravity-balanced performance of
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