Parallel Manipulators

In recent years, parallel kinematics mechanisms have attracted a lot of attention from the academic and industrial communities due to potential applications not only as robot manipulators but also as machine tools. Generally, the criteria used to compare the performance of traditional serial robots and parallel robots are the workspace, the ratio between the payload and the robot mass, accuracy, and dynamic behaviour. In addition to the reduced coupling effect between joints, parallel robots bring the benefits of much higher payload-robot mass ratios, superior accuracy and greater stiffness; qualities which lead to better dynamic performance. The main drawback with parallel robots is the relatively small workspace. A great deal of research on parallel robots has been carried out worldwide, and a large number of parallel mechanism systems have been built for various applications, such as remote handling, machine tools, medical robots, simulators, micro-robots, and humanoid robots. This book opens a window to exceptional research and development work on parallel mechanisms contributed by authors from around the world. Through this window the reader can get a good view of current parallel robot research and applications

Wrench capability of planar manipulators

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Mecânica, Florianópolis, 2016.Robôs são amplamente utilizados em fábricas, e novas aplicações no espaço, nos oceanos, nas indústrias nucleares e em outros campos estão sendo ativamente desenvolvidas. A criação de robôs autônomos que podem aprender a agir em ambientes imprevisíveis têm sido um objetivo de longa data da robótica, da inteligência artificial, e das ciências cognitivas.Um passo importante para a autonomia dos robôs é a necessidade de dotá-los com um certo nível de independência, a fim de enfrentar as mudanças rápidas no ambiente circundante; para obter robôs que operem fora de ambientes rigidamente estruturados, tais como centros de investigação ou instalações de universidades e sem precisar da supervisão de engenheiros ou especialistas, é necessário enfrentar diferentes desafios tecnológicos, entre eles, o desenvolvimento de estratégias que permitam que os robôs interajam com o ambiente. Neste contexto, quando um contacto físico com o ambiente é estabelecido, uma força específica precisa de ser exercida e esta força tem de ser controlada em relação ao processo a fim de evitar a sobrecarga ou danificar o manipulador ou os objetos a serem manipulados.O principal objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar novas metodologias desenvolvidas para determinar a máxima carga que um mecanismo ou manipulador planar pode aplicar ou suportar (capacidade de carga), sejam eles paralelos, seriais ou híbridos e com redundância ou não. A fim de resolver o problema da capacidade de carga, neste trabalho foram propostas duas novas abordagens com base no método do fator de escala clássico e nos métodos clássicos de otimização. Essas novas abordagens deram como resultado um novo método chamado de método de fator de escala modificado utilizado para resolver a capacidade de carga em manipuladores seriais planares e quatro modelos matemáticos para resolver o problema de capacidade de carga em manipuladores paralelos planares com um grau líquido de restrição igual três, quatro, cinco ou seis (CN = 3, CN = 4, CN = 5 ou CN = 6).Abstract : Robots are now widely used in factories, and new applications of robots in space, the oceans, nuclear industries, and other fields are being actively developed. Creating autonomous robots that can learn to act in unpredictable environments has been a long-standing goal of robotics, artificial intelligence, and cognitive sciences.An important step towards the autonomy of robots is the need to provide them with a certain level of independence in order to face quick changes in the environment surrounding them; to get robots operating outside rigidly structured environments, such as research centres or universities facilities and beyond the supervision of engineers or experts, it is necessary to face different technological challenges, amongst them, the development of strategies that allow robots to interact with the environment. In this context, when a physical contact with the the environment is established, a process-specific force need to be exerted and this force has to be controlled in relation to the particular process in order to prevent overloading or damaging the manipulator or the objects to be manipulated.The main objective of this work is to present new methodologies developed for determining the maximum wrench that can be applied or sustained (wrench capability) in planar mechanisms and manipulators, whether it be serial parallel or hybrid and with redundancy or not. In order to solve the wrench capability problem, in this work two new approaches were proposed based in the classic scaling factor method and in classical optimization methods. These new approaches gave as result a new method called the modified scaling factor method used to solve the wrench capability in planar serial manipulators and four mathematical closed-form solutions to solve the wrench capability problem in planar parallel manipulators with a net degree of constraint equal to three, four, five or six (CN = 3, CN = 4, CN = 5 ou CN = 6)

Dexterity, workspace and performance analysis of the conceptual design of a novel three-legged, redundant, lightweight, compliant, serial-parallel robot

In this article, the mechanical design and analysis of a novel three-legged, agile robot with passively compliant 4-degrees-of-freedom legs, comprising a hybrid topology of serial, planar and spherical parallel structures, is presented. The design aims to combine the established principle of the Spring Loaded Inverted Pendulum model for energy efficient locomotion with the accuracy and strength of parallel mechanisms for manipulation tasks. The study involves several kinematics and Jacobian based analyses that specifically evaluate the application of a non-overconstrained spherical parallel manipulator as a robot hip joint, decoupling impact forces and actuation torques, suitable for the requirements of legged locomotion. The dexterity is investigated with respect to joint limits and workspace boundary contours, showing that the mechanism stays well conditioned and allows for a sufficient range of motion. Based on the functional redundancy of the constrained serial-parallel architecture it is furthermore revealed that the robot allows for the exploitation of optimal leg postures, resulting in the possible optimization of actuator load distribution and accuracy improvements. Consequently, the workspace of the robot torso as additional end-effector is investigated for the possible application of object manipulation tasks. Results reveal the existence of a sufficient volume applicable for spatial motion of the torso in the statically stable tripodal posture. In addition, a critical load estimation is derived, which yields a posture dependent performance index that evaluates the risks of overload situations for the individual actuators

A Type II Singularity Avoidance Algorithm for Parallel Manipulators using Output Twist Screws

Parallel robots (PRs) are closed-chain manipulators with diverse applications due to their accuracy and high payload. However, there are configurations within the workspace named Type II singularities where the PRs lose control of the end-effector movements. Type II singularities are a problem for applications where complete control of the end-effector is essential. Trajectory planning produces accurate movements of a PR by avoiding Type II singularities. Generally, singularity avoidance is achieved by optimising a geometrical path with a velocity profile considering singular configurations as obstacles. This research presents an algorithm that avoids Type II singularities by modifying the trajectory of a subset of the actuators. The subset of actuators represents the limbs responsible for a Type II singularity, and they are identified by the angle between two Output Twist Screws. The proposed avoidance algorithm does not require optimisation procedures, which reduces the computational cost for offline trajectory planning and makes it suitable for online trajectory planning. The avoidance algorithm is implemented in offline trajectory planning for a pick and place planar PR and a spatial knee rehabilitation P

Advances in Robot Kinematics : Proceedings of the 15th international conference on Advances in Robot Kinematics

International audienceThe motion of mechanisms, kinematics, is one of the most fundamental aspect of robot design, analysis and control but is also relevant to other scientific domains such as biome- chanics, molecular biology, . . . . The series of books on Advances in Robot Kinematics (ARK) report the latest achievement in this field. ARK has a long history as the first book was published in 1991 and since then new issues have been published every 2 years. Each book is the follow-up of a single-track symposium in which the participants exchange their results and opinions in a meeting that bring together the best of world’s researchers and scientists together with young students. Since 1992 the ARK symposia have come under the patronage of the International Federation for the Promotion of Machine Science-IFToMM.This book is the 13th in the series and is the result of peer-review process intended to select the newest and most original achievements in this field. For the first time the articles of this symposium will be published in a green open-access archive to favor free dissemination of the results. However the book will also be o↵ered as a on-demand printed book.The papers proposed in this book show that robot kinematics is an exciting domain with an immense number of research challenges that go well beyond the field of robotics.The last symposium related with this book was organized by the French National Re- search Institute in Computer Science and Control Theory (INRIA) in Grasse, France

A New Index for Detecting and Avoiding Type II Singularities for the Control of Non-Redundant Parallel Robots

[ES] Los robots paralelos (PR por sus siglas en inglés) son mecanismos donde el efector final está unido a la base, mediante al menos dos cadenas cinemáticas abiertas. Los PRs ofrecen una gran capacidad de carga y alta precisión, lo que los hace adecuados para diversas aplicaciones, entre ellas la interacción persona-robot. Sin embargo, en las proximidades de una singularidad Tipo II (singularidad dentro del espacio de trabajo), un PR pierde el control sobre los movimientos del efector final. La pérdida de control representa un riesgo importante para los usuarios, especialmente en rehabilitación robótica. En las últimas décadas, los PR se han popularizado en la rehabilitación de miembros inferiores debido al aumento del número de personas que viven con limitaciones físicas. Así, esta tesis trata sobre la detección y evitación de singularidades de Tipo II para asegurar total control de un PR no redundante para la rehabilitación y diagnóstico de rodilla, denominado 3UPS+RPU. En la literatura, existen varios índices para detectar y medir la cercanía a una singularidad basados en métodos analíticos y geométricos. Sin embargo, algunos de estos índices carecen de significado físico y son incapaces de identificar los actuadores responsables de la pérdida de control. Esta tesis aporta dos novedosos índices para detectar y medir la proximidad a una singularidad de Tipo II, capaces de identificar el par de actuadores responsables de la singularidad. Los dos índices son los ángulos entre los componentes lineal (T_i,j) y angular (O_i,j) de dos Twist Screw de Salida (OTS por sus siglas en inglés) normalizados i,j. Una singularidad Tipo II es detectada cuando T_i,j = O_i,j = 0 y su proximidad se mide mediante los mínimos ángulos T_i,j (minT) y O_i,j (minO) para los casos plano y espacial, respectivamente. La eficacia de los índices T_i,j y O_i,j se evalúa de forma teórica y experimental en un robot 3UPS+RPU y un mecanismo de cinco barras. Además, se propone un procedimiento experimental para el adecuado establecimiento del límite de cercanía a una singularidad de Tipo II mediante la aproximación progresiva del PR a una singularidad y la medición de la última posición controlable. Posteriormente, se desarrollan dos nuevos algoritmos deterministas para liberar y evitar una singularidad de Tipo II basados en minT y minO para PR no redundantes. minT y minO se utilizan para identificar los dos actuadores a mover para liberar o evitar el PR de una singularidad. Ambos algoritmos requieren una medición precisa de la pose alcanzada por el efector final. El algoritmo para liberar un PR de una configuración singular se aplica con éxito en un controlador híbrido basado en visión artificial para el PR 3UPS+RPU. El controlador utiliza un sistema de fotogrametría para medir la pose del robot debido a la degeneración del modelo cinemático en las proximidades de una singularidad. El algoritmo de evasión de singularidades Tipo II se aplica a la planificación offline y online de trayectorias no singulares para un mecanismo de cinco barras y el PR 3UPS+RPU. Estas aplicaciones verifican el bajo coste computacional y la mínima desviación introducida en la trayectoria original por los nuevos algoritmos. La implementación directa de un controlador de fuerza/posición en el PR 3UPS+RPU es insegura porque el paciente podría llevar involuntariamente al PR a una singularidad. Por lo tanto, esta tesis concluye presentando un novedoso controlador de fuerza/posición complementado con el algoritmo de evasión de singularidades de Tipo II. El nuevo controlador se evalúa durante rehabilitación activa de una pierna de maniquí y una pierna humana no lesionada. Los resultados muestran que el nuevo controlador combinado mantiene el PR 3UPS+RPU lejos de configuraciones singulares con una desviación mínima de la trayectoria original. Por lo tanto, esta tesis habilita el 3UPS+RPU PR para la rehabilitación segura de miembros inferiores lesionados.[CAT] Els robots paral·lels (PR per les seues sigles en anglés) són mecanismes on l'efector final està unit a la base, mitjançant almenys dues cadenes cinemàtiques obertes. Els PRs ofereixen una gran capacitat de càrrega i alta precisió, la qual cosa els fa adequats per a diverses aplicacions, entre elles la interacció persona-robot. No obstant això, en les proximitats d'una singularitat Tipus II (singularitat dins de l'espai de treball), un PR perd el control sobre els moviments de l'efector final. La pèrdua de control representa un risc important per als usuaris, especialment en rehabilitació robòtica. En les últimes dècades, els PR s'han popularitzat en la rehabilitació de membres inferiors a causa de l'augment del nombre de persones que viuen amb limitacions físiques. Així, aquesta tesi tracta sobre la detecció i evació de singularitats de Tipus II per a assegurar total control d'un PR no redundant per a la rehabilitació i diagnòstic de genoll, denominat 3UPS+RPU. En la literatura, existeixen diversos índexs per a detectar i mesurar la proximitat a una singularitat basats en mètodes analítics i geomètrics. No obstant això, alguns d'aquests índexs manquen de significat físic i són incapaços d'identificar els actuadors responsables de la pèrdua de control. Aquesta tesi aporta dos nous índexs per a detectar i mesurar la proximitat a una singularitat de Tipus II, capaços d'identificar el parell d'actuadors responsables de la singularitat. Els dos índexs són els angles entre els components lineal (T_i,j) i angular (O_i,j) de dues Twist Screw d'Eixida (OTS per les seues sigles en engonals) normalitzats i,j. Una singularitat Tipus II és detectada quan T_i,j = O_i,j = 0 i la seua proximitat es mesura mitjançant els minimos angles T_i,j (minT) i O_i,j (minO) per als casos pla i espacial, respectivament. L'eficàcia dels índexs T_i,j i O_i,j es evalua de manera teòrica i experimental en un robot 3UPS+RPU i un mecanisme de cinc barres. A més, es proposa un procediment experimental per a l'adequat establiment del límit de proximitat a una singularitat de Tipus II mitjançant l'aproximació progressiva del PR a una singularitat i el mesurament de l'última posició controlable. Posteriorment, es desenvolupen dos nous algorismes deterministes per a alliberar i evadir una singularitat de Tipus II basats en minT i minO per a PR no redundants. minT i minO s'utilitzen per a identificar els dos actuadors a moure per a alliberar o evadir el PR d'una singularitat. Aquests algorismes requereixen un mesurament precís de la posa aconseguida per l'efector final. L'algorisme per a alliberar un PR d'una configuració singular s'aplica amb èxit en un controlador híbrid basat en visió artificial per al PR 3UPS+RPU. El controlador utilitza un sistema de fotogrametria per a mesurar la posa del robot a causa de la degeneració del model cinemàtic en les proximitats d'una singularitat. L'algorisme d'evació de singularitats Tipus II s'aplica a la planificació offline i en línia de trajectòries no singulars per a un mecanisme de cinc barres i el PR 3UPS+RPU. Aquestes aplicacions verifiquen el baix cost computacional i la mínima desviació introduïda en la trajectòria original pels nous algorismes. La implementació directa d'un controlador de força/posició en el PR 3UPS+RPU és insegura perquè el pacient podria portar involuntàriament al PR a una singularitat. Per tant, aquesta tesi conclou presentant un nou controlador de força/posició complementat amb l'algorisme d'evació de singularitats de Tipus II. El nou controlador s'avalua durant la rehabilitació activa d'una cama de maniquí i una cama humana no lesionada. Els resultats mostren que el nou controlador combinat manté el PR 3UPS+RPU lluny de configuracions singulars amb una desviació mínima de la trajectòria original. Per tant, aquesta tesi habilita el 3UPS+RPU PR per a la rehabilitació segura dels membres inferiors lesionats.[EN] Parallel Robots (PR)s are mechanisms where the end-effector is linked to the base by at least two open kinematics chains. The PRs offer a high payload and high accuracy, making them suitable for various applications, including human robot interaction. However, in proximity to a Type II singularity (singularity within the workspace), a PR loses control over the movements of the end-effector. The loss of control represents a major risk for users, especially in robotic rehabilitation. In the last decades, PRs have become popular in lower limb rehabilitation because of the increment in the number of people living with physical limitations. Thus, this thesis is about the detection and avoidance of Type II singularities to ensure complete control of a non-redundant PR for knee rehabilitation and diagnosis named 3UPS+RPU. In the literature, several indices exist to detect and measure the closeness to a singular configuration based on analytical and geometrical methods. However, some of these indices have no physical meaning, and they are unable to identify the actuators responsible for the loss of control. This thesis contributes two novel indices to detect and measure the proximity to a Type II singularity capable of identifying the pair of actuators responsible for the singularity. The two indices are the angles between the linear (T_i,j) and the angular (O_i,j) components of two i,j normalised Output Twist Screws (OTSs). A Type II singularity is detected when the angles T_i,j = O_i,j = 0 and its closeness is measured by the minimum T_i,j (minT) and minimum O_i,j (minO) for planar and spatial cases, respectively. The effectiveness of the indices T_i,j and O_i,j is evaluated from a theoretical and experimental perspective in a 3UPS+RPU and a five bars mechanism. Moreover, an experimental procedure is proposed for setting a proper limit of closeness to a Type II singularity by the progressive approach of the PR to singular configuration and measuring the last controllable pose. Subsequently, two novel deterministic algorithms for releasing and avoiding Type II singularities based on minT and minO are developed for non-redundant PRs. The minT and minO are used to identify the two actuators to move for release or prevent the PR from the singularity. Both algorithms require an accurate measuring of the pose reached by the end-effector. The algorithm to release a PR from a singular configuration is successfully applied in a vision-based hybrid controller for the 3UPS+RPU PR. The controller uses a photogrammetry system to measure the pose of the robot due to the degeneration of the kinematic model in the vicinity of a singularity. The Type II singularity avoidance algorithm is applied to offline and online free-singularity trajectory planning for a five-bar mechanism and the 3UPS+RPU PR. These applications verify the low computation cost and the minimum deviation introduced in the original trajectory for both novel algorithms. The direct implementation of a force/position controller in the 3UPS+RPU PR is unsafe because the patient could unintentionally drive the PR to a Type II singularity. Therefore, this thesis concludes by presenting a novel force/position controller complemented with the Type II singularity avoidance algorithm. The complemented controller is evaluated during patient-active exercises in a mannequin leg and an uninjured human limb. The results show that the novel combined controller keeps the 3UPS+RPU PR far from singular configurations with a minimum deviation on the original trajectory. Hence, this thesis enables the 3UPS+RPU PR for the safe rehabilitation of injured lower limbs.Pulloquinga Zapata, JL. (2023). A New Index for Detecting and Avoiding Type II Singularities for the Control of Non-Redundant Parallel Robots [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/19427

Redundant Unilaterally Actuated Kinematic Chains: Modeling and Analysis

Unilaterally Actuated Robots (UAR)s are a class of robots defined by an actuation that is constrained to a single sign. Cable robots, grasping, fixturing and tensegrity systems are certain applications of UARs. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in robotic and other mechanical systems actuated or constrained by cables. In such systems, an individual constraint is applied to a body of the mechanism in the form of a pure force which can change its magnitude but cannot reverse its direction. This uni-directional actuation complicates the design of cable-driven robots and can result in limited performance. Cable Driven Parallel Robot (CDPR)s are a class of parallel mechanisms where the actuating legs are replaced by cables. CDPRs benefit from the higher payload to weight ratio and increased rigidity. There is growing interest in the cable actuation of multibody systems. There are potential applications for such mechanisms where low moving inertia is required. Cable-driven serial kinematic chain (CDSKC) are mechanisms where the rigid links form a serial kinematic chain and the cables are arranged in a parallel configuration. CDSKC benefits from the dexterity of the serial mechanisms and the actuation advantages of cable-driven manipulators. Firstly, the kinematic modeling of CDSKC is presented, with a focus on different types of cable routings. A geometric approach based on convex cones is utilized to develop novel cable actuation schemes. The cable routing scheme and architecture have a significant effect on the performance of the robot resulting in a limited workspace and high cable forces required to perform a desired task. A novel cable routing scheme is proposed to reduce the number of actuating cables. The internal routing scheme is where, in addition to being externally routed, the cable can be re-routed internally within the link. This type of routing can be considered as the most generalized form of the multi-segment pass-through routing scheme where a cable segment can be attached within the same link. Secondly, the analysis for CDSKCs require extensions from single link CDPRs to consider different routings. The conditions to satisfy wrench-closure and the workspace analysis of different multi-link unilateral manipulators are investigated. Due to redundant and constrained actuation, it is possible for a motion to be either infeasible or the desired motion can be produced by an infinite number of different actuation profiles. The motion generation of the CDSKCs with a minimal number of actuating cables is studied. The static stiffness evaluation of CDSKCs with different routing topologies and isotropic stiffness conditions were investigated. The dexterity and wrench-based metrics were evaluated throughout the mechanism's workspace. Through this thesis, the fundamental tools required in studying cable-driven serial kinematic chains have been presented. The results of this work highlight the potential of using CDSKCs in bio-inspired systems and tensegrity robots