On the workspace boundary determination of serial manipulators with non-unilateral constraints

Broadly applicable analytical algorithms for workspace of serial manipulators with non-unilateral constraints are developed and illustrated. The Jacobian row-rank deficiency method is employed to determine the singularities of these manipulators. There are four types of singularity sets: Type I: position Jacobian singularities; Type II: instantaneous singularities that are due to a generalized joint that is reaching its apex; Type III: domain boundary singularities, which are associated with the initial and final values of the time interval; Type IV: coupled singularities, which are associated with a relative singular Jacobian, where the null space is reduced in one sub-matrix due to either of two occurrences: a Type II or a Type III singularity. All of the singular surfaces are hypersurfaces that extend internally and externally the workspace envelope. Intersecting singular surfaces identifies singular curves that partition singular surfaces into subsurfaces, and a perturbation method is used to identify regions (curve segments/surface patches) of the hypersurfaces that are on the boundary. The formulation is illustrated by implementing it to a spatial 3-degree of freedom (DOF) and a spatial 4-DOF manipulator.     

Performance Analysis and Application of a Redundantly Actuated Parallel Manipulator for Milling

This paper deals with the performance analysis of a 3-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) planar parallel manipulator with actuation redundancy. Closed-form solutions are developed for both the inverse and direct kinematics about the redundant parallel manipulator. In performance analysis phase, the dexterity is analyzed, three kinds of singularities are investigated, and the stiffness is estimated. Compared with the corresponding non-redundant parallel manipulator with the redundant link removed, the redundantly actuated one has better dexterity, litter singular configurations and higher stiffness. The redundantly actuated parallel manipulator was applied to the design of a 4-DOF hybrid machine tool which also includes a feed worktable to demonstrate its applicability.     

Finding Unmanipulable Singularities in Parallel Mechanisms Using Jacobian Decomposition

A geometric method is presented to determine the unmanipulable singular configurations of a general class of parallel mechanisms. In unmanipulable singular configurations, the composite Jacobian matrix that maps active joints velocities to end-effector velocity loses rank, indicating the loss of a task degree-of-freedom. Finding unmanipulable configurations is difficult due to the complexity of the Jacobian matrix. The problem is greatly simplified by a novel decomposition of the matrix presented in this paper. The method is used to find singularities in several example parallel machines.     

并联机构不同正解间无奇异转换问题探讨

并联机构的正解具有多解性,以一种平面三自由度并联机构为例,研究了不同正解之间的无奇异连接路径问题．结合Innocenti发现的第一条无奇异路径,采用基于奇异曲面的图形化方法分析了正解构型在工作空间中的分布．发现了两个正解间的多条类似路径,这些路径形成了连接两个正解位形的近似于螺旋状的管道空间．首次发现了在其它的正解之间也存在着这样的非奇异路径．这些结果表明并联机构的奇异曲面及正解分布异常复杂,如果两个正解对应的雅可比矩阵行列式值异号,则一定不存在无奇异路径;如果同号,则还要根据奇异曲面来定．两个正解构型间无奇异路径的判定还最终依赖于对奇异曲面更为清楚的描述．     

Position,Jacobian and workspace analysis of a 3-PSP spatial parallel manipulator

This paper investigates the problems of kinematics, Jacobian, singularity and workspace analysis of a spatial type of 3-PSP parallel manipulator. First, structure and motion variables of the robot are addressed. Two operational modes, non-pure translational and coupled mixed-type are considered. Two inverse kinematics solutions, an analytical and a numerical, for the two operational modes are presented. The direct kinematics of the robot is also solved utilizing a new geometrical approach. It is shown, unlike most parallel robots, the direct kinematics problem of this robot has a unique solution. Next, analytical expressions for the velocity and acceleration relations are derived in invariant form. Auxiliary vectors are introduced to eliminate passive velocity and acceleration vectors. The three types of conventional singularities are analyzed. The notion of non-pure rotational and non-pure translational Jacobian matrices is introduced. The non-pure rotational and non-pure translational Jacobian matrices are combined to form the Jacobian of constraint matrix which is then used to obtain the constraint singularity. Finally, two methods, a discretization method and one based on direct kinematics are presented and robot non-pure translation and coupled mixed-type reachable workspaces are obtained. The influence of tool length on workspace is also studied.     

Normal forms of non-redundant singular robot kinematics: Three DOF worked examples

A collection of mathematical models (normal forms) of 3 degree of freedom (DOF) corank 1 singular manipulator kinematics is derived using a general theory presented in Tchoń and Muszyński.¹ All 3-DOF kinematic structures, from PPP up to RRR, are investigated. Singular configurations are distinguished by their corank. For each kinematics geometric conditions making the kinematics spatial and defining the corank of the appropriate Jacobian matrix are established. Several instructive examples of kinematic singularities are examined in detail and given a readable geometric interpretation. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Singularity Principle and Property of Stewart Parallel Manipulator

Based on the kinematic relationship of rigid body, this paper presents a new principle and method to analyze the singularity of a Stewart parallel manipulator. We study the sufficient and necessary condition that three velocities of three non‐collinear points in a body can determine a screw motion. All singularities of the Stewart parallel mechanism are classified into three different linear‐complex singularities. The various algebraic and geometrical properties as well as kinematics ones are analyzed in detail in different singular configurations. With the condition above, the singularity loci and distribution characteristics of a 3/6—Stewart parallel manipulator for some orientations of the mobile are studied in an oblique plane and in three‐dimensional space. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Determination of optimum robot base location considering discrete end-effector positions by means of hybrid genetic algorithm

The performance of a robot manipulator during a process depends on its position relative to the corresponding path. An ill-placed manipulator risks inefficient operation as well as blocks due to singularities. The paper deals with an optimization algorithm to determine the base position and the joint angles of a spatial robot, when the end-effector poses are prescribed, avoiding the singular configurations. The optimization problem is solved through a hybrid heuristic method that combines the advantages of a genetic algorithm, a quasi-Newton algorithm and a constraints handling method. Six cases of a 6-DOF manipulator are studied to verify the feasibility of the proposed algorithm.     

Study and resolution of singularities for a 6-DOF PUMA manipulator

Upon solving the inverse kinematics problem of robot manipulators, the inherent singularity problem should always be considered. When a manipulator is approaching a singular configuration, a certain degree of freedom will be lost such that there are no feasible solutions of the manipulator to move into this singular direction. In this paper, the singularities of a 6-DOF PUMA manipulator are analyzed in detail and all the corresponding singular directions in task space are clearly identified. In order to resolve this singularity problem, an approach denoted Singularity Isolation Plus Compact QP (SICQP) method is proposed. The SICQP method decomposes the work space into achievable and unachievable (i.e., singular) directions. Then, the exactness in the singular directions are released such that extra redundancy is provided to the achievable directions. Finally, the Compact QP method is applied to maintain the exactness in the achievable directions, and to minimize the tracking errors in the singular directions under the condition that feasible joint solutions must be obtained. In the end, some simulation results for PUMA manipulator are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the SICQP method.     

Classification of kinematic singularities in planar robot manipulators

In [13, 14] we have proclaimed a singularity theory based programme of investigations of kinematic singularities in robot manipulators. The main achievement of the programme consists in providing local candidate models of kinematic singularities. However, due to the specific form of the manipulator kinematics, fitting the candidate models into the prescribed robot kinematics is a fairly open problem. The problem is easily solvable only around non-singular configurations of manipulators, where locally the kinematics can be modelled by linear injections or projections. In this paper we are concerned with planar manipulator kinematics, and prove that, under a mild geometric condition, such kinematics can be transformed around singular configurations to simple quadratic models of the Morse type. The models provide a complete local classification of generic planar kinematics of robot manipulators.     

Kinematics,Singularity Study and Optimization of an Innovative Spherical Parallel Manipulator with Large Workspace

A novel design for three degree of freedom (DoF) mechanical arm, i.e. a 3-PUS/S Spherical Parallel Manipulator (SPM) with three rotational motions is proposed in this article. In addition, its kinematic equations, singularity and design optimization are studied according to its application. The proposed parallel robot that has three legs with three prismatic joints can rotate about Z-axis unlimitedly. Therefore, the manipulator has large workspace and good flexibility, hence being attractive to study. To complete the kinematic analysis of the manipulator, three stages are considered as follows. At the first, the kinematics of the SPM is explained to obtain the positions, velocities, and accelerations. Furthermore, the Jacobian and Hessian matrices of the 3-PUS/S Parallel Manipulator are derived. The results are verified by the use of CAD and Adams software. Next, the Jacobian matrix obtained from the kinematic equations is utilized to study the different types of singularities. Finally, the optimum dimensions of the manipulator based on kinematic and singularity features are studied by Genetic Algorithm (GA), and the Global Condition Index (GCI) is maximized. The results help the designers to achieve an ideal geometry for the parallel manipulator with good workspace and minimum singularity.     

Operating robot manipulators through kinematic singularities using a continuously sliding mode control

Planning the motion of end-effectors of robot manipulators can be carried out more directly in the Cartesian space compared to the joint space. Yet, Cartesian paths may include singular configurations where conventional control schemes suffer from excessive joint velocities and loss of tracking accuracy. The difficulties arise because the Jacobian matrix that is used to establish a linear relation between the velocities in the task and joint spaces loses rank at singularities. The problem can be resolved by using a local second-order approximation of robot kinematics for the joint velocities, which is called Resolved Motion Quadratic Rate Control. In this article, we present a control strategy based on this approach and a recently developed variable structure control scheme. The controller receives Cartesian inputs whenever the manipulator is outside the singular domain. Otherwise, it uses resolved motion quadratic rate control to compute the required joint inputs. Numerical simulation is performed to show that the proposed control scheme provides accurate tracking of the desired motion without inducing excessive control activity when operating robot manipulators through singular configurations. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Tri-pyramid Robot: Design and kinematic analysis of a 3-DOF translational parallel manipulator

3-DOF translational parallel manipulators have been developed in many different forms, but they still have respective disadvantages in different applications. To overcome their disadvantages, the structure and constraint design of a 3-DOF translational parallel manipulator is presented and named the Tri-pyramid Robot. In the constraint design of the presented manipulator, a conical displacement subset is defined based on displacement group theory. A triangular pyramidal constraint is presented and applied in the constraint designs between the manipulator?s subchains. The structural properties including the decoupled motions, overconstraint elimination, singularity free workspace, fixed actuators and isotropic configuration are analyzed and compared to existing structures. The Tri-pyramid Robot is constrained and realized by a minimal number of 1-DOF joints. The kinematic position solutions, workspace with variation of structural parameters, Jacobian matrix, isotropic and dexterity analysis are performed and evaluated in the numerical simulations.     

Singularity analysis and detection of 6-UCU parallel manipulator

6-UCU kind Gough–Stewart platform (GSP) has been used extensively in practice. The singularity of GSP has been studied by many scholars, but their works mainly focused on finding the methods to divide the cases of singularity or searching the solutions with Jacobian matrices. On the other hand, this paper studies the singularities of 6-UCU parallel manipulator caused by not only the active joints but also passive universal joints. Two types of singularity are derived based on a degree of freedom method by using screw theory. Singularity detection is essential to certify the absence of singularity within a prescribed workspace or a reachable workspace for a practical use of the 6-UCU parallel manipulator. Algorithms are proposed by using evolutionary strategy to detect the singularity in the desired or reachable workspace of the 6-UCU parallel manipulator. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed singularity detection methods.     

Singularity Analysis of a 3DOF Parallel Manipulator Using Infinite Constraint Plane Method

In this article a novel geometrical method is presented to obtain singular points of a parallel manipulator. First, the constrained plain method (CPM) and some of its application in parallel mechanism is introduced. Given the definition of constraint plane (CP) and infinite constraint plane (ICP) the dependency conditions of constraints is achieved with the use of a new theorem based on the Ceva geometrical theorem. Another theorem is used to achieve the direction of angular velocity of a body having three ICPs. Finally, as an example, using these two theorems, singularities of the 3UPS_PU mechanism are obtained. This method is completely geometrical, involving no complex or massive calculations and yields the answer quickly. In the previous methods based on the Grassmann geometry, the mechanism needs to be statically analyzed at first, so that the Inverse Jacobian matrix is achieved, and then the Plucker-vector is derived. It usually needs exhaustive search of the workspace using an accurate analytical model of the mechanism kinematics and may lead to plenty of conditions remained to be pondered in order to obtain the singularity conditions.     

Singularity-robust decoupled control of dual-elbow manipulators

The ability of a robot manipulator to move inside its workspace is inhibited by the presence of joint limits and obstacles and by the existence of singular positions in the configuration space of the manipulator. Several kinematic control strategies have been proposed to ameliorate these problems and to control the motion of the manipulator inside its workspace. The common base of these strategies is the manipulability measure which has been used to: (i) avoid singularities at the task-planning level; and (ii) to develop a singularity-robust inverse Jacobian matrix for continuous kinematic control. In this paper, a singularity-robust resolved-rate control strategy is presented for decoupled robot geometries and implemented for the dual-elbow manipulator. The proposed approach exploits the decoupled geometry of the dual-elbow manipulator to control independently the shoulder and the arm subsystems, for any desired end-effector motion, thus incurring a significantly lower computational cost compared to existing schemes.     

Formal analysis of the kinematic Jacobian in screw theory

As robotic systems flourish, reliability has become a topic of paramount importance in the human–robot relationship. The Jacobian matrix in screw theory underpins the design and optimization of robotic manipulators. Kernel properties of robotic manipulators, including dexterity and singularity, are characterized with the Jacobian matrix. The accurate specification and the rigorous analysis of the Jacobian matrix are indispensable in guaranteeing correct evaluation of the kinematics performance of manipulators. In this paper, a formal method for analyzing the Jacobian matrix in screw theory is presented using the higher-order logic theorem prover HOL4. Formalizations of twists and the forward kinematics are performed using the product of exponentials formula and the theory of functional matrices. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to formally analyze the kinematic Jacobian using theorem proving. The formal modeling and analysis of the Stanford manipulator demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach to the formal verification of the kinematic properties of robotic manipulators.     

机器人运动学反解中的奇异点处理

本文研究机器人运动学反解中的奇异点处理问题，给出了机器人微分运动Ｊａｃｏｂｉａｎ矩阵Ｊ（ｑ）条件数的一个上界，并在此基础上提出机器人关节速度阻尼伪逆解方法中阻尼系数的一种自适应调整方法，该方法可以保证在奇异点附近伪逆解的稳定性。