Analysis of the Rotopod: An all revolute parallel manipulator

摘要

This paper introduces a new configuration of parallel manipulator call the Rotopod which is constructed from all revolute type joints. The Rotopod consists of two platforms connected by six legs and exhibits six Cartesian degrees of freedom. The Rotopod is initially compared with other all revolute joint parallel manipulators to show its similarities and differences. The inverse kinematics for this mechanism are developed and used to analyze the accessible workspace of the mechanism. Optimization is performed to determine the Rotopod design configurations which maximum the accessible workspace based on desirable functional constraints.