Structural Synthesis and Performance Study of Generalized Parallel Manipulators

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BACKGROUND: Robotics has revolutionized the manufacturing industry by saving costs, and improving product quality and work conditions. Continued effective use of robotics in manufacturing is essential to future economic growth, job creation and global competitiveness. A general trend of meeting these demands is to make use robots called Conventional Parallel Manipulators (CPMs). As compared to serial manipulators, CPMs have higher rigidity, accuracy, and loading capacities. Despite these advantages, CPMs still suffer from challenges in coupling between kinematic chains and thus are not being widely adopted by industry due to limitations in their performance capabilities. RESEARCH PROGRAM: The proposed research program focuses on the next-generation of parallel manipulators -- Generalized Parallel Manipulators (GPMs) -- that can overcome the limitations of CPMs and perform tasks faster, more accurately, with larger workspace and greater adaptability to changing work assignments and conditions. The long-term objectives are to develop design methodologies for structural synthesis of GPMs, to develop theories for improving performance of GPMs, and to enable technology transfer of these techniques to industry applications by focusing on the critical technology gaps and rigorous experiments. The short-term objectives are to study and develop: (1) GPMs with configurable platforms for more task adaptability; (2) GPMs with coupling sub-chains for higher stiffness; (3) GPMs with articulated moving platforms for larger workspace; and 4) reconfigurable GPMs for better performance. We will use two new paradigms: Design For Performance (DFP) and System Integration (SI) to develop new design methodologies and technologies for high performance GPMs. The DFP paradigm generates an integrated environment that enables simultaneous design of a robot structure and development of an optimal system performance. The SI approach synergistically integrates components to maximize their complementary strengths and minimize their weaknesses. SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed research program will lead to substantial contributions to the design and methodologies of next-generation GPMs and their practical applications in modern manufacturing fields. The GMPs developed will facilitate manufacturing operations that include higher precision assembly, faster product handling and surface finishing, and smarter biomedical instruments (e.g., wearable device). This research will also significantly impact the Canadian manufacturing economy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including automotive and aerospace, by improving performance and efficiency, increasing quality and flexibility, and lowering costs and lead time of many robotic products currently used in Canadian industries. In addition, the proposed research will train the next-generation of HQP needed to meet the increasing needs of industry for both fundamental scientific discovery and innovations in industrial applications.