Kinematics and workspace analysis of a novel 3-DOF spatial parallel robot

Abstract

In this study, kinematics design and workspace analysis of a novel spatial parallel mechanism is elaborated. The proposed mechanism is to be exploited in a hybrid serial-parallel mobile robot to fulfill stable motion of the robotic system when handling heavy objects by a serial manipulator mounted on the parallel mechanism. In fact, this parallel mechanism has been designed to obtain an appropriate maneuverability and fulfill the tipover stability of a hybrid serial-parallel mobile robotic system after grasping heavy objects. The proposed mechanism is made of three legs while each leg has one active degree of freedom (DOF) so that the mechanism contains 3-DOF. In order to investigate this novel parallel mechanism, inverse and forward kinematics model is developed and verified using two maneuvers. Next, the workspace of the manipulator is demonstrated symbolically, besides a numerical analysis will be studied. Finally, the advantages of exploiting such a parallel manipulator are discussed in order to be used in a hybrid serial-parallel mobile robotic system.