Variational approach for singularity-free path-planning of parallel manipulators
by Shamik Sen, Bhaskar Dasgupta and Asok Kumar Mallik
Abstract:
This paper addresses the problem of singularity-free path-planning
for parallel manipulators. Unlike in serial manipulators, where
there are only boundary singularities, parallel manipulators also
possess singular configurations within the workspace where the
manipulators are uncontrollable. Therefore, it is imperative that
the generated paths are singularity-free. In this paper, we use a
variational approach for planning singularity-free paths for
parallel manipulators, based on a Lagrangian incorporating both a
kinetic energy term which keeps the path short, and a potential
energy term which ensures that the obtained path is singularity-free
and the actuator lengths remain within their prescribed limits.
The approach is applied to several parallel manipulators to evaluate
the performance of this method.