Kinematic Analysis of a Continuum Parallel Robot

Conference Paper presented at EUCOMES 2016 held in Nantes, France, from 20 to 23 September 2016Continuum Parallel Robots are mechanical devices with closed loops where kinematic pairs have been eliminated and motion is obtained by large deformations of certain elements. Most compliant mechanisms use notches in thick elements to produce the effect of kinematic pairs. A few are designed so that slender elements can deform and produce the desired motion. Some microelectromechanical systems have used this principle to create bistable planar mechanisms. The purpose of this work is to extend such principle in the field of macro mechanisms for manipulation. The aim is to design the counterparts to some classical parallel manipulators solving the corresponding kinematic problems. In doing this, the authors will have to work out the most efficient way to solve a position problem where geometry and forces are involved. Such compliant mechanisms could be combined in the future with tensegrity systems to enhance the available workspace. In this first report, we will focus on the simplest planar parallel mechanism of two degrees of freedomThe authorswish to acknowledge the financial support received fromthe Spanish Government through theMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad (Project DPI2015-64450-R) and the Regional Government of the Basque Country through the Departamento de Educación, Universidades e Investigación (Project IT445-10) and UPV/EHU under program UFI 11/29. Also, the support of ERASMUS program is gratefully acknowledged by the fourth autho