Modelling, design and control of compliant joints to mimic lower kinematic pairs

基于柔性接头的机构提供了基于刚性部件之间接触的传统机构的替代方案。后一类机构由于其接头中不可避免的间隙和摩擦而具有有限的精度。柔性机构提供更高的精度，这使得它们在微纳米制造，生物医学，光学等学科中成为关键工具。另一方面，这些机构仍然面临着一些挑战：它们的运动范围通常是有限的;它们对横向载荷敏感;它们的带宽很窄。在这项研究中，我们将开发顺应性关节，以提高性能的顺应性机构在所有三个方面。柔性连接还具有潜在的优点，如重量轻和高各向异性。这两个属性可以结合起来设计棱柱接头，可以缠绕在绞盘上，产生一个非常小的存储体积的大跨度。这样的接头然后可以与线缆联接。这将导致一类新的并联机器人机械手表现出非常大的收缩尺寸。这种机构的设想应用是在航空航天，用于部署结构和机器人操纵;但也在陆地机器人技术中，具有体积较小，与环境良好集成且成本较低的机构的潜在发展。

Mechanisms based on compliant joints offer an alternative to conventional mechanisms based on the contact between rigid parts. The latter class of mechanisms has limited accuracy, due to the inevitable clearance and friction in its joints. Compliant mechanisms offer higher precision, which makes them a critical tool in disciplines such as micro- and nano-fabrication, biomedicine, optics, etc. On the other hand, these mechanisms still face some challenges: Their range of motions is often limited; they are sensitive to transverse loads; and their bandwidth is narrow. In this proposed research, we will develop compliant joints to improve the performance of compliant mechanisms in all three aspects. Compliant joints also have potential advantages such as lightweight and high anisotropy. These two properties can be combined to design prismatic joints that can be wound on winches, yielding a large span for a very small storage volume. Such joints can then be coupled with cables. This will result in a new class of parallel robotic manipulators exhibiting very large workspaces with respect to their retracted sizes. Envisioned applications for such mechanisms are in aerospace, for the deployment of structures, and robotic manipulation; but also in terrestrial robotics, with the potential development of mechanisms that are less bulky, well integrated into their environment, and less expensive.