Publication
A survey on modularity and distributivity in series-parallel hybrid robots
Shivesh Kumar; Hendrik Wöhrle; José de Gea Fernández; Andreas Mueller; Frank Kirchner
In: Mechatronics, Vol. 68, Pages 102-367, Elsevier Ltd. 6/2020.
Abstract
Parallel mechanisms are used increasingly often as modular subsystem units in various
robots and man-machine interfaces for their superior stiffness, payload-to-weight ratio
and dynamic properties. This leads to series-parallel hybrid robotic systems which
utilize closed loop linkages and parallel kinematic machines as an abstraction of a certain
kinematic joint. This paper presents a survey of recently developed series-parallel
hybrid robots in various application domains such as legged robotics, humanoids, exoskeletons
and industrial automation. In particular, we focus on modular and distributive
aspects of such systems with an intention to bring the current design paradigm into
focus, which simplifies the robot development process by promoting the effective reuse
of hardware and software components and overcomes the shortcomings of traditional
serial robots like poor payload capacity and stiffness.