The effect of actuator relocation on singularity, Jacobian and kinematic isotropy of parallel robots

In this paper, we describe the effect of actuator relocation on singularity, Jacobian and kinematic isotropy performance of parallel robots and manipulators. The actuator relocation is related to the location where the actuator is mounted, and the actuated joint and transmission ratio of actuators with gears. The actuators can be located far from the joint they control if an appropriate transmission such as a pulley, gear and linkage is used, which is general in industrial serial robots. Since parallel robots consist of several serial legs, it is necessary to study the effect on the J/sub q/ and J/sub x/ when the actuator in each leg of the parallel robot is mounted remotely and the actuation joint is driven through a transmission. First, we describe the effect of both transmission ratios and actuator location on Jacobian isotropy and singularity. We illustrate the effect of actuator relocation on kinematic isotropy performance with examples. This actuator relocation can be used to optimize the kinematic performance of parallel robots.