Robot Analysis: The Mechanics of Serial and Parallel Manipulators

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Summary: A must see by Mech E grad students and advanced undergrads.
Review: A very readable, and by far, the most detailed and modern account of the mechanics of both serial and parallel systems.

Rating:
Summary: phenomenal content
Review: an exciting book having phenomenal contents

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Summary: The following is taken from the preface of the book.
Review: This book provides both fundamental and advanced topics on the kinematics, statics, and dynamics of robot manipulators. Both serial and parallel manipulators are covered in depth. In addition, it also contains chapters on geared robotic mechanisms and tendon-driven manipulators. An overview of the state of the art in solving systems of nonlinear equations that arise in robot kinematics is given in the appendixes. An extensive reference list is provided at the end of each chapter to provide readers with plenty of resources for more advanced study.

Prerequisites for readers of this book consist of the fundamentals in kinematics, dynamics, vector space analysis, and matrix theory. These basics are usually taught at the undergraduate level. A one-semester course will cover most of the fundamentals presented in the book. The more advanced topics, such as the screw-based Jacobian and singularity analysis and the two chapters on geared robotic wrists and tendon-driven manipulators, can be taught in a second semester or be used as reference materials.

Chapter 1 provides a brief review of the historical development and a classification of robot manipulators. The science of robotics and the mechanics of robot manipulators are defined. A brief review of some of the fundamentals that are essential for an understanding of the mechanics of robot manipulators is given. Finally, the rotation matrix and the homogeneous transformation matrix are described.

Chapter 2 lays the mathematical foundation for the position analysis of serial manipulators. The concept of loop-closure equation is introduced. Both the Denavit-Hartenberg method and the method of successive screw displacements are presented. Several industrial and research robots are analyzed to illustrate the methodologies.

Chapter 3 provides the fundamental knowledge needed for the position analysis of parallel manipulators. Parallel manipulators are classified according to their kinematic structures. The method of velocity vector-loop equation is introduced. Several parallel manipulators, including a planar three-dof manipulator, a spatial three-dof orientation mechanism, a parallel platform with only translational degrees of freedom, and the well-known Stewart-Gough platform are analyzed.

Chapter 4 extends the study of serial manipulators from the position analysis to the velocity analysis. The differential kinematic properties of a link in an open-loop chain and their propagation from link to link are studied. Both the conventional Jacobian and the screw-based Jacobian are defined. The screw-based Jacobian analysis is shown to be more efficient than the conventional method of analysis. Finally, the singularities of serial manipulators are studied.

Chapter 5 covers the Jacobian and singularity analyses of parallel manipulators. The velocity vector-loop approach is employed for derivation of the conventional Jacobian matrices, and the concept of reciprocal screws is used for derivation of the screw-based Jacobian matrices. The singularities of parallel manipulators are classified into three types. For the first type of singularity, the manipulator loses 1 or more degrees of freedom, while for the second type of singularity, the manipulator gains 1 or more degrees of freedom. The third type of singularity occurs when both the first and second types of singularity occur simultaneously. The physical meanings of each type of singularity are illustrated by several parallel manipulators.

Chapter 6 addresses the statics and stiffness of serial and parallel manipulators. Both the free-body diagram method and the method of virtual work are presented. By applying the principle of virtual work, it is shown that in the absence of gravity, the actuated joint torques are related to the end-effector output forces by the transpose of the Jacobian matrix. The statics and stiffness of several manipulators are analyzed to illustrate the principles.

Chapter 7 deals with the kinematics and statics of robotic wrist mechanisms. The structural characteristics of epicyclic gear trains are analyzed. The theory of fundamental circuits and the coaxiality conditions associated with epicyclic gear drives are derived. A systematic methodology for the kinematic analysis of epicyclic gear trains and robotic wrist mechanisms is developed.

Chapter 8 covers the kinematics and statics of tendon-driven manipulators. The concept of transmission lines is introduced. It is shown that tendon displacements are related to the joint angles by a structure matrix, and the structure matrix can be derived by inspection of the structural topology of the tendon routing. Furthermore, force transmission characteristics from the tendon space to the end-effector space are analyzed. An efficient method for the resolution of redundant tendon forces is developed. The Stanford/JPL hand and the Utah/MIT hand are analyzed to demonstrate the methodology.

Chapter 9 deals with the dynamics of serial manipulators. Both the recursive Newton-Euler formulation and the Lagrangian formulation are presented. The concepts of Lagrangian function, manipulator inertia matrix, and generalized forces are introduced. Furthermore, the inertia effects of rotors on the dynamics of a serial manipulator are discussed.

Chapter 10 concerns the dynamics of parallel manipulators. The dynamic analysis of parallel manipulators is complicated by the existence of multiple closed loops. First, a numerical solution technique based on the laws of Newton and Euler is presented. Then, a more efficient method based on the principle of virtual work is developed. Finally, it is shown that explicit equations of motion for some relatively simple manipulators can be derived by applying the Lagrangian equations of the first type.

In the appendixes, the state-of-the-art continuation method and the methods of elimination for solving systems of nonlinear equations are presented. Furthermore, Raghavan and Roth's solution of the kinematics of the 6R manipulator of general geometry is presented.

Rating:
Summary: great for agricultural machinery application
Review: This is the best parallel mechanisms reference book I've seen thus far.