A transport apparatus comprising: a housing; a drive mounted to the housing; and at least one transport arm connected to the drive, wherein the drive includes at least one rotor having at least one magnetically permeable salient pole of magnetic permeable material and disposed in an isolated environment; at least one stator having at least one salient pole structure defining a salient pole with corresponding coil units coiled around the salient pole structure and disposed outside the isolated environment where the at least one salient pole of the at least one stator and the at least one magnetically permeable salient pole of the rotor form a closed magnetic flux circuit between the at least one rotor and the at least one stator; at least one seal partition configured to isolate the isolated environment; and at least one sensor including a magnetic sensor member (203H, 803H) connected to the housing; at least one sensor track connected to the at least one rotor; where the at least one seal partition is disposed between and separates the magnetic sensor member (203H, 803H) and the at least one sensor track so that the at least one sensor track is disposed in the isolated environment and the magnetic sensor member is disposed outside the isolated environment. a housing; a drive mounted to the housing; and at least one transport arm connected to the drive, wherein the drive includes at least one rotor having at least one magnetically permeable salient pole of magnetic permeable material and disposed in an isolated environment; at least one stator having at least one salient pole structure defining a salient pole with corresponding coil units coiled around the salient pole structure and disposed outside the isolated environment where the at least one salient pole of the at least one stator and the at least one magnetically permeable salient pole of the rotor form a closed magnetic flux circuit between the at least one rotor and the at least one stator; at least one seal partition configured to isolate the isolated environment; and at least one sensor including a magnetic sensor member (203H, 803H) connected to the housing; at least one sensor track connected to the at least one rotor; where the at least one seal partition is disposed between and separates the magnetic sensor member (203H, 803H) and the at least one sensor track so that the at least one sensor track is disposed in the isolated environment and the magnetic sensor member is disposed outside the isolated environment. at least one rotor having at least one magnetically permeable salient pole of magnetic permeable material and disposed in an isolated environment; at least one stator having at least one salient pole structure defining a salient pole with corresponding coil units coiled around the salient pole structure and disposed outside the isolated environment where the at least one salient pole of the at least one stator and the at least one magnetically permeable salient pole of the rotor form a closed magnetic flux circuit between the at least one rotor and the at least one stator; at least one seal partition configured to isolate the isolated environment; and at least one sensor including a magnetic sensor member (203H, 803H) connected to the housing; at least one sensor track connected to the at least one rotor; where the at least one seal partition is disposed between and separates the magnetic sensor member (203H, 803H) and the at least one sensor track so that the at least one sensor track is disposed in the isolated environment and the magnetic sensor member is disposed outside the isolated environment. a magnetic sensor member (203H, 803H) connected to the housing; at least one sensor track connected to the at least one rotor; where the at least one seal partition is disposed between and separates the magnetic sensor member (203H, 803H) and the at least one sensor track so that the at least one sensor track is disposed in the isolated environment and the magnetic sensor member is disposed outside the isolated environment.