Velocity Analysis of Truss-Type Manipulators
Abstract A generalized method for the velocity analysis of truss-type manipulators is presented. This analysis relies on a priori knowledge of the position analysis for the manipulator. The approach uses a connectivity chart to define the equations required to determine the velocities of the nodal points of the truss. The problem of determining the nodal velocities is formulated as a linear algebraic relationship for ease of analytical and numerical manipulation. Once each nodal velocity is known, a general description of the overall manipulator velocity is formed by determining the instantaneous screw axis for the output plane. An analytical method for characterizing this output velocity in terms of the instantaneous screw axis is presented. Analysis of each of the four basic variable geometry truss modules (tetrahedron, octahedron, decahedron, and dodecahedron) is presented. Although ad hoc velocity analyses of many of these manipulators have been presented in the past, the technique presented in this paper is unified for any truss-type manipulator.