MULTIPLE-GOAL KINEMATIC OPTIMIZATION OF A PARALLEL SPHERICAL MECHANISM WITH ACTUATOR REDUNDANCY

A new kinematic design will be presented that is fully parallel and actuator redundant. Actuator redundancy refers to the use of more actuators than are strictly necessary to control the mechanism without increasing the mobility. The uses of this form of redundancy include the ability to partially control the internal forces, increase the workspace, remove singularities, and augment the dexterity. Optimization will take place based on several objective functions. The kinematic dexterity, the forces present at the actuators, and the uniformity of the dexterity over the workspace will all be investigated as potential objectives. Global measures will be derived from each of these quantities for optimization purposes. Examining only a single objective may not yield an acceptable design. Instead, optimization of several factors is done simultaneously by specifying a primary objective and minimum performance standards for the secondary measures.