Optimal Design of a 3-Leg 6-DOF Parallel Manipulator for a Specific Workspace

Researchers seldom study optimum design of a six-degree-of-freedom（DOF） parallel manipulator with three legs based upon the given workspace.An optimal design method of a novel three-leg six-DOF parallel manipulator（TLPM） is presented.The mechanical structure of this robot is introduced,with this structure the kinematic constrain equations is decoupled.Analytical solutions of the forward kinematics are worked out,one configuration of this robot,including position and orientation of the end-effector are graphically displayed.Then,on the basis of several extreme positions of the kinematic performances,the task workspace is given.An algorithm of optimal designing is introduced to find the smallest dimensional parameters of the proposed robot.Examples illustrate the design results,and a design stability index is introduced,which ensures that the robot remains a safe distance from the boundary of sits actual workspace.Finally,one prototype of the robot is developed based on this method.This method can easily find appropriate kinematic parameters that can size a robot having the smallest workspace enclosing a predefined task workspace.It improves the design efficiency,ensures that the robot has a small mechanical size possesses a large given workspace volume,and meets the lightweight design requirements.

A Finite and Instantaneous Screw Based Approach for Topology Design and Kinematic Analysis of 5-Axis Parallel Kinematic Machines

Unifying the models for topology design and kinematic analysis has long been a desire for the research of parallel kinematic machines(PKMs). This requires that analytical description, formulation and operation for both finite and instantaneous motions are performed by the same mathematical tool. Based upon finite and instantaneous screw theory, a unified and systematic approach for topology design and kinematic analysis of PKMs is proposed in this paper. Using the derivative mapping between finite and instantaneous screws built in the authors’ previous work, the finite and instantaneous motions of PKMs are analytically described by the simple and non?redundant screws in quasi?vector and vector forms. And topological and parametric models of PKMs are algebraically formulated and related. These related topological and parametric models are ready to do type synthesis and kinematic analysis of PKMs under the unified framework of screw theory. In order to show the validity of the proposed approach, a kind of two?translational and three?rotational(2T3R)5?axis PKMs is taken as example. Numerous new structures of the 2T3R PKMs are synthe?sized as the results of topology design, and their Jacobian matrix is obtained easily for parameter optimization and performance evaluation. Some of the synthesized PKMs have outstanding capabilities in terms of large workspaces and flexible orientations, and have great potential for industrial applications of machining and manufacture. Among them, METROM PKM is a typical example which has attracted a lot of attention from global companies and already been developed as commercial products. The approach is a general and unified approach that can be used in the innovative design of different kinds of PKMs.

DIMENSIONAL DESIGN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF 6-DOF SCISSOR PARALLEL MANIPULATOR

Parallel manipulators have many advantages over serial manipulators in termsof high load/weight ratio, velocity, stiffness and precision. A dimensional design theory andmethodology of six degrees of freedom scissor parallel manipulator (SPM) is investigated. The SPMkinematics inverse equation is given. Based on the formulation of the local dexterity and thedefinition about the indexes of workspace incircle radius, the effects of the design parameters onthe dexterity and workspace are discussed. Moreover the incircle radius change ratio about workspaceare defined and used as the evaluated indicator to analyze the effects of the design parameters onthe performances. A dimensional design theory that could satisfy the requirement of dexterity andworkspace is proposed. The dimensional design theory and methodology can be of help in the design,trajectory planning and control of parallel manipulator.

KINEMATIC DESIGN OF A RECONFIGURABLE MINIATURE PARALLEL KINEMATIC MACHINE

The kinematic design of a reconfigurable miniature parallel kinematic machineis dealt with. It shows that the reconfigurability may be realized by packaging a tripod-basedparallel mechanism with fixed length struts into a compact and rigid frame with which the differentconfigurations can be formed. Utilizing a dual parameter model, the influences of the geometricalparameters on the dexterous performance and the workspace/machine volume ratio are investigated. Anovel global performance index for the dimensional synthesis is proposed and optimized, resulting ina set of dimensionless geometrical parameters.

Atlas Based Kinematic Optimum Design of the Stewart Parallel Manipulator

Optimum design is a key approach to make full use of potential advantages of a parallel manipulator. The optimum design of multi-parameter parallel manipulators（more than three design parameters）, such as Stewart manipulator, relies on analysis based and algorithm based optimum design methods, which fall to be accurate or intuitive. To solve this problem and achieve both accurate and intuition, atlas based optimum design of a general Stewart parallel manipulator is established, with rational selection of design parameters. Based on the defined spherical usable workspace（SUW）, primary kinematic performance indices of the Stewart manipulator involving workspace and condition number are introduced and analyzed. Then, corresponding performance atlases are drawn with the established non-dimensional design space, and impact of joint distribution angles on the manipulator performance is analyzed and illustrated. At last, an example on atlas based optimum design of the Stewart manipulator is accomplished to illustrate the optimum design process, considering the end-effector posture. Deduced atlases can be flexibly applied to both quantitative and qualitative analysis to get the desired optimal design for the Stewart manipulator with respect to related performance requirements. Besides, the established optimum design method can be further applied to other multi-parameter parallel manipulators.

Optimal design of the link lengths for a planar parallel manipulator

This paper addresses geometry design of a new kind of 2-DOF parallel manipulator actuated horizontally by linear actua- tors. The first step of the optimum design involves developing a non-dimensional structure of the planar 2-DOF parallel manipulator. The global conditioning index, global velocity index, global stiffness index and global payload index of the 2-DOF parallel manipu- lators are investigated, and the geometrical parameters without dimension are determined with respect to the specification on per- formances. Finally, based on the optimum non-dimensional result, the optimum dimensional parameters are achieved which is suit- able for the desired workspace. The optimum methodology of this paper is convenient and can be extended to other parallel mecha-

Parallel Processing Design for LTE PUSCH Demodulation and Decoding Based on Multi-Core Processor

The Long Term Evolution (LTE) system imposes high requirements for dispatching delay.Moreover,very large air interface rate of LTE requires good processing capability for the devices processing the baseband signals.Consequently,the single-core processor cannot meet the requirements of LTE system.This paper analyzes how to use multi-core processors to achieve parallel processing of uplink demodulation and decoding in LTE systems and designs an approach to parallel processing.The test results prove that this approach works quite well.

Series-parallel Hybrid Vehicle Control Strategy Design and Optimization Using Real-valued Genetic Algorithm

Despite the series-parallel hybrid electric vehicle inherits the performance advantages from both series and parallel hybrid electric vehicle, few researches about the series-parallel hybrid electric vehicle have been revealed because of its complex co nstruction and control strategy. In this paper, a series-parallel hybrid electric bus as well as its control strategy is revealed, and a control parameter optimization approach using the real-valued genetic algorithm is proposed. The optimization objective is to minimize the fuel consumption while sustain the battery state of charge, a tangent penalty function of state of charge（SOC） is embodied in the objective function to recast this multi-objective nonlinear optimization problem as a single linear optimization problem. For this strategy, the vehicle operating mode is switched based on the vehicle speed, and an ＂optimal line＂ typed strategy is designed for the parallel control. The optimization parameters include the speed threshold for mode switching, the highest state of charge allowed, the lowest state of charge allowed and the scale factor of the engine optimal torque to the engine maximum torque at a rotational speed. They are optimized through numerical experiments based on real-value genes, arithmetic crossover and mutation operators. The hybrid bus has been evaluated at the Chinese Transit Bus City Driving Cycle via road test, in which a control area network-based monitor system was used to trace the driving schedule. The test result shows that this approach is feasible for the control parameter optimization. This approach can be applied to not only the novel construction presented in this paper, but also other types of hybrid electric vehicles.

A Trace-state Based Approach to Specification and Design of Parallel Programs

In this paper they deal with the issue of specification and design of parallel communicatingprocesses. A trace-state based model is introduced to describe the behaviour of concurrent programs. They presenta formal system based on that model to achieve hierarchical and modular development and verification methods. Anumber of refinement rules are used to decompose the specification into smaller ones and calculate program fromthe

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS AND KINEMATIC DESIGN OF PURE TRANSLATIONAL PARALLEL MECHANISM WITH VERTICAL GUIDE-WAYS

Performance analysis and kinematic design of the 3-PUU pure translational parallel mechanism with vertical guide-ways are investigated. Two novel performance indices, the critical slider stroke and the main section area of workspace, are defined; The expressions of two other indices, i.e. the global dexterity and global force transfer ratio are revised based on the main section of workspace. Using these indices, performance changes versus the varieties of dimensional parameters of mechanism are investigated in detail and the graphic descriptions of change tendencies of the performance indices are illustrated. By means of these obtained graphic descriptions, kinematic parameters for the 3-PUU pure translational parallel mechanism with better characteristics can be directly acquired.

Real-time Parallel Processing System Design and Implementation for Underwater Acoustic Communication Based on Multiple Processors

ADSP-TS101 is a high performance DSP with good properties of parallel processing and high speed.According to the real-time processing requirements of underwater acoustic communication algorithms,a real-time parallel processing system with multi-channel synchronous sample,which is composed of multiple ADSP-TS101s,is designed and carried out.For the hardware design,field programmable gate array(FPGA)logical control is adopted for the design of multi-channel synchronous sample module and cluster/data flow associated pin connection mode is adopted for multiprocessing parallel processing configuration respectively.And the software is optimized by two kinds of communication ways:broadcast writing way through shared bus and point-to-point way through link ports.Through the whole system installation,connective debugging,and experiments in a lake,the results show that the real-time parallel processing system has good stability and real-time processing capability and meets the technical design requirements of real-time processing.

状态空间方法的多级机构运动方案自动生成方法

针对机构传动方案的多样化设计与自动生成问题,提出了一种串并联机构方案及串并联混合联接机构方案的设计方法。首先,基于状态变换理论,利用状态变换矢量和矩阵表达了基本机构的输入、输出运动及机构的运动形式,以及机构输入和输出运动的运动方式;然后,根据状态变换矩阵之间的乘积与矩阵之和,表达了机构之间的串联、并联和串并联混合联接的组合,并根据矩阵的分解规则与基本机构单元库,系统生成了不同的串并联及混合联接的机构设计方案;其次,为了实现串并联机构设计过程的自动化,开发了计算机辅助设计平台,该平台集成了MATLAB App Designer和SolidWorks,对设计方案进行了创建和评估,自动化地保证了复杂机构布局生成的准确和效率;最后,通过一个涉及打印机传动机构的案例研究,验证了该设计方法的有效性。研究结果表明:该设计方法具有通用性,在组成机构分解与不分解两种情景下,可分别计算出69984种设计方案和1432922400种设计方案,验证了该方法对机构方案多样化设计的有效性。该设计方法可为解决机构方案多样化设计提供新途径。

面向杂凑密码算法的专用指令加速器的设计与实现

物联网的快速发展对嵌入式设备的系统性能和数据安全性的要求越来越高,传统的通用嵌入式处理器对密码算法的实现效率不高,不能很好满足性能需要,此外嵌入式设备还有着低功耗的场景需求。为解决以上问题,在Xilinx ZYNQ ZC706嵌入式开发平台上设计了一个低功耗的面向杂凑密码算法的专用指令加速器,该加速器包含有取指译码单元、执行单元和数据访存单元,通过多任务数据并行和专用指令实现计算加速;并设计令牌机制解决指令执行时的数据冲突问题;在高层次综合(high-level synthesis,HLS)工具的基础上通过存储优化改进访存机制,有效提高带宽利用率。实验结果表明,加速器的工作频率为100 MHz,该ARM+FPGA方案相较于单ARM方案可达3倍以上的加速效果,而且运行功耗仅为2.23 W,该加速器也可定制化拓展,有较好的灵活性。

The parallel 3D magnetotelluric forward modeling algorithm

The workload of the 3D magnetotelluric forward modeling algorithm is so large that the traditional serial algorithm costs an extremely large compute time. However, the 3D forward modeling algorithm can process the data in the frequency domain, which is very suitable for parallel computation. With the advantage of MPI and based on an analysis of the flow of the 3D magnetotelluric serial forward algorithm, we suggest the idea of parallel computation and apply it. Three theoretical models are tested and the execution efficiency is compared in different situations. The results indicate that the parallel 3D forward modeling computation is correct and the efficiency is greatly improved. This method is suitable for large size geophysical computations.

A Review on Cable-driven Parallel Robots

Cable-driven parallel robots(CDPRs) are categorized as a type of parallel manipulators. In CDPRs, flexible cables are used to take the place of rigid links. The particular property of cables provides CDPRs several advantages, including larger workspaces, higher payload-to-weight ratio and lower manufacturing costs rather than rigid-link robots. In this paper, the history of the development of CDPRs is introduced and several successful latest application cases of CDPRs are presented. The theory development of CDPRs is introduced focusing on design, performance analysis and control theory. Research on CDPRs gains wide attention and is highly motivated by the modern engineering demand for large load capacity and workspace. A number of exciting advances in CDPRs are summarized in this paper since it is proposed in the 1980 s, which points to a fruitful future both in theory and application. In order to meet the increasing requirements of robot in different areas, future steps foresee more in-depth research and extension applications of CDPRs including intelligent control, composite materials, integrated and reconfigurable design.

Optimal Design of Stewart Platform Safety Mechanism

A safety mechanism capable of moving at will within the range of its whole link lengths is designed based on the link space. Sixteen extreme poses are obtained in a Stewart platform. The singular points of the extreme poses are solved by using homotopy method as well as the judgment condition of singular points, and thereby the maximum link lengths are achieved. The rotation angles of joints and the distances between two neighboring links are analyzed in a calculation example in which that the mechanism moves among the extreme poses is assumed. Then an algorithm to test the safety mechanism is presented taking the constraint conditions into account. A safety mechanism having optimal properties of global movement is worked out by optimizing all structural parameters through minimizing the average condition number of extreme poses.

Innovative Group-Decoupling Design of a Segment Erector Based on G_F Set Theory

The segment erector is a key part of the shield machines for tunnel engineering. The available segment erectors are all of serial configuration which is suffering from the problems of low rigidity and accumulative motion errors. The current research mainly focuses on improving assembly accuracy and control performance of serial segment erectors. An innovative design method is proposed featuring motion group-decoupling, based on which a new type of segment erector is developed and investigated. Firstly, the segment installation manipulation is analyzed and decomposed into three motion groups that are decoupled. Then the type synthesis for the 4-DOF motion group is performed based on the general function（GF） set theory and a new configuration of （1T？1R？1PS3UPS） is attained according to the segment manipulation requirements. Consequently, the kinematic models are built and the reducibility and accuracy are analyzed. The dexterity is verified though numerical simulation and no singular points appear in the workspace. Finally, a positioning experiment is carried out by using the prototype developed in the lab that demonstrates a 13.1% improvement of positioning accuracy and the feasibility of the new segment erector. The presented group-decoupling design method is able to invent new type of hybrid segment erectors that avoid the accumulative motion error of erecting.

Topology Search of 3-DOF Translational Parallel Manipulators with Three Identical Limbs for Leg Mechanisms

Three-degree of freedom（3-DOF） translational parallel manipulators（TPMs） have been widely studied both in industry and academia in the past decades. However, most architectures of 3-DOF TPMs are created mainly on designers＇ intuition, empirical knowledge, or associative reasoning and the topology synthesis researches of 3-DOF TPMs are still limited. In order to find out the atlas of designs for 3-DOF TPMs, a topology search is presented for enumeration of 3-DOF TPMs whose limbs can be modeled as 5-DOF serial chains. The proposed topology search of 3-DOF TPMs is aimed to overcome the sensitivities of the design solution of a 3-DOF TPM for a LARM leg mechanism in a biped robot. The topology search, which is based on the concept of generation and specialization in graph theory, is reported as a step-by-step procedure with desired specifications, principle and rules of generalization, design requirements and constraints, and algorithm of number synthesis. In order to obtain new feasible designs for a chosen example and to limit the search domain under general considerations, one topological generalized kinematic chain is chosen to be specialized. An atlas of new feasible designs is obtained and analyzed for a specific solution as leg mechanisms. The proposed methodology provides a topology search for 3-DOF TPMs for leg mechanisms, but it can be also expanded for other applications and tasks.

Type Synthesis of Lower Mobility Parallel Mechanisms: A Review

Type synthesis of mechanisms aims to systematically determine all possible structures for a specific mobility requirement. Numerous methods based on di erent theories were proposed for type synthesis of lower mobility parallel mechanisms in past decades. However, there does not exist a comprehensive review on these approaches. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to give such a review, classifying the approaches proposed in the literature into three groups, namely, motion-based methods, constraint-based methods, and other methods. The motion-based methods include the Lie group based method, the GF set method, the linear transformation method, the POC set method,and the finite screw method. The constraint-based methods involve the screw theory-based method, the virtual chain method, the method based on Grassmann line geometry and line graphs, and the motion constraint generator method. Other methods contain the enumeration approach based on the general CGK mobility formula and the graph theory method. Upon thoroughly analyzing the characteristics and/or limitations of each method, this review provides a well reference to help researchers find an e ective synthesis method for innovative design and further scientific investigations for mechanisms.

A Comparison of Within-Subjects and Between-Subjects Designs in Studies with Discrete-Time Survival Outcomes

Crossover designs are well-known to have major advantages when comparing the effects of various non-curative treatments. We compare efficiencies of several crossover designs along with the Balaam’s design with that of a parallel group design pertaining to longitudinal studies where event time can only be measured in discrete time intervals. With equally sized sequences, the parallel group design results in the greater efficiency if the number of time periods is small. However, the crossover and Balaam’s designs tend to be more efficient as the study duration increases. The degree to which these designs add efficiency depends on the baseline hazard function and effect size. Additionally, we incorporate different cost considerations at the subject level when comparing the designs to determine the most cost-efficient design. Researchers might consider the crossover or Balaam’s design more efficient if the duration of the study is long enough, especially if the costs of applying the baseline treatment are higher.