Kinematic Analysis of Tendon Driven Mechanisms Using Signal Flow Graphs
Abstract The application of signal flow graphs has been applied to the kinematic analysis of tendon driven mechanisms. Signal flow graphs have been used in the many areas particularly in the area of control for determining the closed-loop function of a control system. An application of this approach brings the kinematic analysis of tendon driven mechanisms a step towards dynamic analysis and control of these same mechanisms, all within the same framework. Rules directly relating to the application of this technique to tendon driven mechanisms have been developed along with a stepwise description of the construction of signal flow graphs. The resulting graphs permit a direct solution to the kinematic relationships between the output and the input to the mechanism.