Exploiting Redundancies for Workspace Enlargement and Joint Trajectory Optimisation of a Kinematically Redundant Hybrid Parallel Robot
Abstract In this paper, possibilities for workspace enlargement and joint trajectory optimisation of a (6+3)-degree-of-freedom kinematically redundant hybrid parallel robot are investigated. The inverse kinematic problem of the robot can be solved analytically, which is a desirable property of redundant robots, and is implemented in the investigations. A new method for detecting mechanical interferences between two links which are not directly connected is proposed for evaluating the workspace. Redundant degrees of freedom are optimised in order to further expand the workspace. An approach for determining the desired redundant joint coordinates is developed so that a performance index can be minimised approximately when the robot is following a prescribed Cartesian trajectory. The presented approaches are readily applicable to other kinematically redundant hybrid parallel robots proposed by the authors.