Shannon Ridgeway

Intelligent Machines (Sweden), University of Florida

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Shannon Ridgeway’s research centers on the mechanical design and analysis of parallel robotic systems, with a particular focus on articulated mobile robots and parallel manipulators. Her work is distinguished by the introduction and evaluation of the Parallel Planar Actuator (PPA), a novel joint actuation scheme that offers high torque generation and a distributed structural design, making it especially suitable for mobile robotic platforms. Ridgeway’s foundational paper, “The Mechanical Design of a Parallel Actuated Joint for an Articulated Mobile Robot” (1992, 5 citations), systematically examines joint actuation alternatives and establishes the PPA’s advantages in torque capacity and structural integration. Her most cited work, “A Forward Analysis of a Two Degree of Freedom Parallel Manipulator” (1996, 6 citations), provides a rigorous kinematic analysis that remains a reference for researchers studying parallel mechanisms. Though her citation counts are modest, Ridgeway’s contributions are notable for their early and insightful application of parallel actuation to mobile robotics—a field that has since grown significantly. Her work represents a thoughtful engineering approach to solving real-world actuation challenges, laying groundwork that later researchers have built upon in the design of compact, high-torque robotic joints.