Trajectory Optimization for a Six-DOF Cable-Suspended Parallel Robot with Dynamic Motions Beyond the Static Workspace

This paper presents a trajectory optimization formulation for planning dynamic trajectories of a six-degree-of-freedom (six-DOF) cable-suspended parallel robot (CSPR) that extend beyond the static workspace. The optimization is guided by low-dimensional dynamic models to overcome the local minima and accelerate the exploration of the narrow feasible state space. The dynamic similarity between the six-DOF CSPR and the three-DOF point-mass CSPR is discussed with the analyses of their feasible force polyhedra. Finally, the transition trajectories of a three-DOF CSPR are used as the initial guess of the translational part of the six-DOF motion. With the proposed approach, highly dynamic motions for a six-DOF CSPR are efficiently generated with multiple oscillations. The feasibility is demonstrated by point-to-point and periodic trajectories in the physics simulation.