OPTIMAL SYNTHESIS OF ROBOT MANIPULATORS BASED ON GLOBAL KINEMATIC PARAMETERS

A method to represent and measure the global manipulability of manipul ators is presented. The method is based on a new concept, referred to as the global velocity ellipsoid, which represents the global motion m anipulability or the velocity transmission characteristics of a manipu lator. The global velocity ellipsoid is obtained by considering a weig hted distribution of the end-effector position over the workspace of t he manipulator. Parameters representing the global isotropy and the gl obal magnitude of the velocity transmission of manipulators are used f or analyzing and optimizing the kinematic structure of manipulators. T he extension of the concept to force transmission characteristics and its utilization for minimizing error propagation and enhancing accurac y, task placement and planning are discussed. Several examples are pre sented.