Design and Analysis of a Novel Shoulder Exoskeleton Based on a Parallel Mechanism

Power-assisted upper-limb exoskeletons are primarily used to improve the handling efficiency and load capacity.However,kinematic mismatch between the kinematics and biological joints is a major problem in most existing exoskeletons,because it reduces the boosting effect and causes pain and long-term joint damage in humans.In this study,a shoulder augmentation exoskeleton was designed based on a parallel mechanism that solves the shoulder dislocation problem using the upper arm as a passive limb.Consequently,the human–machine synergy and wearability of the exoskeleton system were improved without increasing the volume and weight of the system.A parallel mechanism was used as the structural body of the shoulder joint exoskeleton,and its workspace,dexterity,and stiffness were analyzed.Additionally,an ergonomic model was developed using the principle of virtual work,and a case analysis was performed considering the lifting of heavy objects.The results show that the upper arm reduces the driving force requirement in coordinated motion,enhances the load capacity of the system,and achieves excellent assistance.

Type Synthesis of Fully Decoupled Three Translational Parallel Mechanism with Closed-Loop Units and High Stifness

In order to solve the problem of weak stifness of the existing fully decoupled parallel mechanism, a new synthesis method of fully decoupled three translational (3T) parallel mechanisms (PMs) with closed-loop units and high stifness is proposed based on screw theory. Firstly, a new criterion for the full decoupled of PMs is presented that the reciprocal product of the transmission wrench screw matrix and the output twist screw matrix of PMs is a diagonal matrix, and all elements on the main diagonal are nonzero constants. The forms of the transmission wrench screws are determined by the criterion. Secondly, the forms of the actuated and unactuated screws can be obtained according to their relationships with the transmission wrench screws. The basic decoupled limbs are generated by combination of the above actuated and unactuated screws. Finally, a closed-loop units construction method is investigated to apply the decoupled mechanisms in a better way on the high stifness occasion. The closed-loop units are constructed in the basic decoupled limbs to generate a high-stifness fully decoupled 3T PM. Kinematic and stifness analyses show that the Jacobian matrix is a diagonal matrix, and the stifness is obviously higher than that of the coupling mechanisms, which verifes the correctness of the proposed synthesis method. The mechanism synthesized by this method has a good application prospect in vehicle durability test platform.

Bridge Crack Segmentation Method Based on Parallel Attention Mechanism and Multi-Scale Features Fusion

Regular inspection of bridge cracks is crucial to bridge maintenance and repair.The traditional manual crack detection methods are timeconsuming,dangerous and subjective.At the same time,for the existing mainstream vision-based automatic crack detection algorithms,it is challenging to detect fine cracks and balance the detection accuracy and speed.Therefore,this paper proposes a new bridge crack segmentationmethod based on parallel attention mechanism and multi-scale features fusion on top of the DeeplabV3+network framework.First,the improved lightweight MobileNetv2 network and dilated separable convolution are integrated into the original DeeplabV3+network to improve the original backbone network Xception and atrous spatial pyramid pooling(ASPP)module,respectively,dramatically reducing the number of parameters in the network and accelerates the training and prediction speed of the model.Moreover,we introduce the parallel attention mechanism into the encoding and decoding stages.The attention to the crack regions can be enhanced from the aspects of both channel and spatial parts and significantly suppress the interference of various noises.Finally,we further improve the detection performance of the model for fine cracks by introducing a multi-scale features fusion module.Our research results are validated on the self-made dataset.The experiments show that our method is more accurate than other methods.Its intersection of union(IoU)and F1-score(F1)are increased to 77.96%and 87.57%,respectively.In addition,the number of parameters is only 4.10M,which is much smaller than the original network;also,the frames per second(FPS)is increased to 15 frames/s.The results prove that the proposed method fits well the requirements of rapid and accurate detection of bridge cracks and is superior to other methods.

Non-Negative Adaptive Mechanism-Based Sliding Mode Control for Parallel Manipulators with Uncertainties

In this paper,a non-negative adaptive mechanism based on an adaptive nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode control strategy is proposed to have finite time and high-speed trajectory tracking for parallel manipulators with the existence of unknown bounded complex uncertainties and external disturbances.The proposed approach is a hybrid scheme of the online non-negative adaptive mechanism,tracking differentiator,and nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode control(NFTSMC).Based on the online non-negative adaptive mechanism,the proposed control can remove the assumption that the uncertainties and disturbances must be bounded for the NFTSMC controllers.The proposed controller has several advantages such as simple structure,easy implementation,rapid response,chattering-free,high precision,robustness,singularity avoidance,and finite-time convergence.Since all control parameters are online updated via tracking differentiator and non-negative adaptive law,the tracking control performance at high-speed motions can be better in real-time requirement and disturbance rejection ability.Finally,simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

INVERSE KINEMATIC AND DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF A 3-DOF PARALLEL MECHANISM

According to the structure character of the passive sub-chain of the 3TPS-TPparallel mechanism, the kinematic constraint equations of the movable platform are established,based on which the closed-form inverse kinematics formula of the parallel mechanism are presented.Through parting the spherical joints of the active sub-chains and using the force and momentequilibrium of both the active sub-chains and passive sub-chain, the constraint forces acting on theparted joints are determined. Subsequently, the analytic expressions of the actuator driving forcesare derived by means of the force equilibrium of the upper links of active sub-chains.

Comparative Analysis of Characteristics of the Coupled and Decoupled Parallel Mechanisms

The existence of coupling makes the parallel mechanism possess some special advantages over the serial mechanism, while it is just the coupling that brings about the parallel mechanism some limitations, such as complex workspace, high nonlinear relationship between input and output, difficulties in static and dynamic analysis, and the development of control system, which restricts its application fields. The decoupled parallel mechanism is currently one of the research focuses of the mechanism fields, while the study on the different characteristics between the deeoupled and coupled parallel mechanisms has not been reported. Therefore, this paper performs the systematic comparative analysis of the 3-RPUR and the 3-CPR parallel mechanisms. The features of the two mechanisms are described and their movement forms are analyzed with screw theory. The inverse and forward displacement solutions are solved and the Jacobian matrices are obtained. According to the Jacobian matrices and by using the theory of physical model of the solution space, the workspace, dexterity, velocity, payload capability, and stiffness of the mechanisms are analyzed with plotting the indices atlases. The research results prove that the effects of the coupling on the parallel mechanism are double-side, and then the adoption of the decoupled parallel mechanism should be determined by the requirements of the concrete application situation. The contents of this paper should be useful for the type synthesis and practical application of the parallel mechanism.

Biomimetic Shoulder Complex Based on 3-PSS/S Spherical Parallel Mechanism

The application of the parallel mechanism is still limited in the humanoid robot fields, and the existing parallel humanoid robot joint has not yet been reflected the characteristics of the parallel mechanism completely, also failed to solve the problem, such as small workspace, effectively. From the structural and functional bionic point of view, a three degrees of freedom（DOFs） spherical parallel mechanism for the shoulder complex of the humanoid robot is presented. According to the structure and kinetic characteristics analysis of the human shoulder complex, 3-PSS/S（P for prismatic pair, S for spherical pair） is chosen as the original configuration for the shouder complex. Using genetic algorithm, the optimization of the 3-PSS/S spherical parallel mechanism is performed, and the orientation workspace of the prototype mechanism is enlarged obviously. Combining the practical structure characteristics of the human shouder complex, an offset output mode, which means the output rod of the mechanism turn to any direction at the point a certain distance from the rotation center of the mechanism, is put forward, which provide possibility for the consistent of the workspace of the mechanism and the actual motion space of the human body shoulder joint. The relationship of the attitude angles between different coordinate system is derived, which establishs the foundation for the motion descriptions under different conditions and control development. The 3-PSS/S spherical parallel mechanism is proposed for the shoulder complex, and the consistence of the workspace of the mechanism and the human shoulder complex is realized by the stuctural parameter optimization and the offset output design.

Type Synthesis of 4-DOF Parallel Kinematic Mechanisms Based on Grassmann Line Geometry and Atlas Method

Many methods are proposed to deal with the type synthesis of parallel kinematic mechanisms（PKMs）, but most of them are less intuitive to some extent. Thus, to propose a concise and intuitive type synthesis method for engineering application is a very challenging issue, which should be further studied in the field. Grassmann line geometry, which can investigate the dimensions of spatial line-clusters in a concise way, is taken as the mathematic foundation. Atlas method is introduced to visually describe the degrees of freedom（DOFs） and constraints of a mechanism, and the dual rule is brought in to realize the mutual conversion of the freedom-space and constraint-space. Consequently, a systematic method based on Grassmann line geometry and Atlas method is generated and the entire type synthesis process is presented. Three type 4-DOF PKMs, i.e., 1T3R, 2T2R and 3T1R（T： translational DOF; R： rotational DOF）, are classified according to the different combinations of the translational DOFs and rotational DOFs. The type synthesis of 4-DOF PKMs is carried out and the possible configurations are thoroughly investigated. Some new PKMs with useful functions are generated during this procedure. The type synthesis method based on Grassmann line geometry and Atlas method is intuitive and concise, and can reduce the complexity of the PKMs＇ type synthesis. Moreover, this method can provide theoretical guidance for other PKMs＇ type synthesis and engineering application. A novel type synthesis method is proposed, which solves the existing methods＇ problems in terms of complicated, not intuitive and unsuitable for practical application.

Type Synthesis of 1T2R Parallel Mechanisms Using Structure Coupling-Reducing Method

Direct kinematics with analytic solutions is critical to the real-time control of parallel mechanisms.Therefore,the type synthesis of a mechanism having explicit form of forward kinematics has become a topic of interest.Based on this purpose,this paper deals with the type synthesis of 1T2R parallel mechanisms by investigating the topological structure coupling-reducing of the 3UPS&UP parallel mechanism.With the aid of the theory of mechanism topology,the analysis of the topological characteristics of the 3UPS&UP parallel mechanism is presented,which shows that there are highly coupled motions and constraints amongst the limbs of the mechanism.Three methods for structure coupling-reducing of the 3UPS&UP parallel mechanism are proposed,resulting in eight new types of 1T2R parallel mechanisms with one or zero coupling degree.One obtained parallel mechanism is taken as an example to demonstrate that a mechanism with zero coupling degree has an explicit form for forward kinematics.The process of type synthesis is in the order of permutation and combination;therefore,there are no omissions.This method is also appli cable to other configurations,and novel topological structures having simple forward kinematics can be obtained from an original mechanism via this method.

Kinematics and Dynamics Analysis of a Quadruped Walking Robot with Parallel Leg Mechanism

It is desired to require a walking robot for the elderly and the disabled to have large capacity,high stiffness,stability,etc.However,the existing walking robots cannot achieve these requirements because of the weight-payload ratio and simple function.Therefore,Improvement of enhancing capacity and functions of the walking robot is an important research issue.According to walking requirements and combining modularization and reconfigurable ideas,a quadruped/biped reconfigurable walking robot with parallel leg mechanism is proposed.The proposed robot can be used for both a biped and a quadruped walking robot.The kinematics and performance analysis of a 3-UPU parallel mechanism which is the basic leg mechanism of a quadruped walking robot are conducted and the structural parameters are optimized.The results show that performance of the walking robot is optimal when the circumradius R,r of the upper and lower platform of leg mechanism are 161.7 mm,57.7 mm,respectively.Based on the optimal results,the kinematics and dynamics of the quadruped walking robot in the static walking mode are derived with the application of parallel mechanism and influence coefficient theory,and the optimal coordination distribution of the dynamic load for the quadruped walking robot with over-determinate inputs is analyzed,which solves dynamic load coupling caused by the branches’ constraint of the robot in the walk process.Besides laying a theoretical foundation for development of the prototype,the kinematics and dynamics studies on the quadruped walking robot also boost the theoretical research of the quadruped walking and the practical applications of parallel mechanism.

Type Synthesis and Characteristic Analysis of a Family of 2-DOF Rotational Decoupled Parallel Mechanisms

It is widely used for the rotational parallel mechanism in the field of spatial orientation. While owing to the existence of coupling, the forward kinematic solution and the control of the general rotational parallel mechanism are especially difficult. If decoupling can be realized, the kinematic analysis of the mechanism will be very simple. Presently, the research of the parallel mechanism is focused on the inverse solution and structure optimization, and there is a lack of rotation decoupled parallel mechanisms （DPMs）. So this paper proposes a family of 2 degree of freedom （DOF） rotational DPMs based on the four-bar linkage mechanism, and performs a characteristic analysis. This family of DPMs is composed of a moving platform, a fixed base and three limbs. Taking U_RRU SPU DPM as an example, the motion feature of this DPM is analyzed with the constraint screw method, and its mobility is calculated by using the Modified Kutzbach-Grtibler criterion. The inverse and forward displacement problems of the proposed parallel mechanism are solved. The decoupled feature of the proposed parallel mechanism is validated by the deduction of the expression of the Jaeobian matrix. Three kinds of singularity conditions of this DPM are discussed, and the atlases of the output parameter concerning different geometric parameters are plotted with the theory of the physical model of the solution space. The proposition and characteristic analysis of the novel rotational DPMs in this paper should be useful for further research and application of the parallel mechanisms.

Novel Mobility Formula for Parallel Mechanisms Expressed with Mobility of General Link Group

The determination of virtual constraints is always one of the key and difficult problems in traditional mobility calculation. To make mobility calculation simple, considering avoiding virtual constraints, some new formulae have been presented, however these formulae can hardly intuitively reflect general link group＇s restrictions on output member and its influences on independence of output parameters, which is premise to the judgment of the properties of mobility. Towards the problem to reveal the intrinsic relationship between the degree of freedom（DOF） of a mechanism, the link group, and the dimension of output parameters, also to avoid determination of virtual constraint, based on the new concepts of the ＂DOF of general link group＂ and ＂node parameters＂, a new formula in the calculation of the mobility of mechanisms is presented that is expressed with DOFs of the general link groups and rank of motion parameters of base point of the output link. It is named GOM（mobility of groups and output parameter） formula. On the basis of new concepts of＂effective parameters＂ and ＂invalid parameters＂, a rule is put forward for solving the DOF of mechanisms with invalid parameters by GOM formula, that is, the base point parameters are the subset of effective parameters of link group. Thereafter, several examples are enumerated and the results coincide with the prototype data, which proves the validity of the proposed formula. Meanwhile, it is obtained that the necessary and sufficient condition for the judgment of output parameters independence is that each of the DOF of the link group is not less than zero. The proposed formula which is simple in calculation provides theoretical basis for the judgment of independence of output parameters and provides references for type synthesis of novel parallel mechanisms with independence requirements of their output parameters.

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.

Biped Walking Robot Based on a 2-UPU+2-UU Parallel Mechanism

Existing biped robots mainly fall into two categories： robots with left and right feet and robots with upper and lower feet. The load carrying capability of a biped robot is quite limited since the two feet of a walking robot supports the robot alternatively during walking. To improve the load carrying capability, a novel biped walking robot is proposed based on a 2-UPU＋2-UU parallel mechanism. The biped walking robot is composed of two identical platforms（feet） and four limbs, including two UPU（universal-prismatic-universal serial chain） limbs and two UU limbs. To enhance its terrain adaptability like articulated vehicles, the two feet of the biped walking robot are designed as two vehicles in detail. The conditions that the geometric parameters of the feet must satisfy are discussed. The degrees-of-freedom of the mechanism is analyzed by using screw theory. Gait analysis, kinematic analysis and stability analysis of the mechanism are carried out to verify the structural design parameters. The simulation results validate the feasibility of walking on rugged terrain. Experiments with a physical prototype show that the novel biped walking robot can walk stably on smooth terrain. Due to its unique feet design and high stiffness, the biped walking robot may adapt to rugged terrain and is suitable for load-carrying.

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.

Type Synthesis Method for the Translational Decoupled Parallel Mechanism Based on Screw Theory

Coupling is the significant characteristic of parallel mechanism,while it is just the coupling that brings about much difficulty for the configuration design,theoretical analysis and the development of the control system of the parallel mechanism. And recently,the research on the decoupled parallel mechanism becomes one of the research hot points in the mechanism fields. In this paper,a type synthesis method for the translational decoupled parallel mechanism( TDPM) is proposed based on the screw theory. To achieve the decoupling characteristics of the translational parallel mechanism,the translational decoupled criterion for type synthesis of the branches are presented in this paper. According to this criterion and the realization conditions of rotational degree of freedom of the mechanism proposed former,a large number of branches for the TDPM are obtained. Taking the three degrees of freedom( DOFs) TDPM as an example,the process of type synthesis is discussed in detail. Using this proposed type synthesis method,a serial of translational decoupled parallel mechanisms, including but not limited to all the existing typical 3-DOF TDPMs, are obtained, which identifies the correctness and effective of the method. The contents of this paper provide a reference and possess significant theoretical meanings for the synthesis and development of the novel decoupled parallel mechanisms.

Gait Analysis of a Radial Symmetrical Hexapod Robot Based on Parallel Mechanisms

Most gait studies of multi-legged robots in past neglected the dexterity of robot body and the relationship between stride length and body height.This paper investigates the performance of a radial symmetrical hexapod robot based on the dexterity of parallel mechanism.Assuming the constraints between the supporting feet and the ground with hinges,the supporting legs and the hexapod body are taken as a parallel mechanism,and each swing leg is regarded as a serial manipulator.The hexapod robot can be considered as a series of hybrid serial-parallel mechanisms while walking on the ground.Locomotion performance can be got by analyzing these equivalent mechanisms.The kinematics of the whole robotic system is established,and the influence of foothold position on the workspace of robot body is analyzed.A new method to calculate the stride length of multi-legged robots is proposed by analyzing the relationship between the workspaces of two adjacent equivalent parallel mechanisms in one gait cycle.Referring to service region and service sphere,weight service sphere and weight service region are put forward to evaluate the dexterity of robot body.The dexterity of single point in workspace and the dexterity distribution in vertical and horizontal projection plane are demonstrated.Simulation shows when the foothold offset goes up to 174 mm,the dexterity of robot body achieves its maximum value 0.164 4 in mixed gait.The proposed methods based on parallel mechanisms can be used to calculate the stride length and the dexterity of multi-legged robot,and provide new approach to determine the stride length,body height,footholds in gait planning of multi-legged robot.

STRUCTURE SYNTHESIS OF 4-DOF PARALLEL ROBOT MECHANISMS BASED ON SCREW THEORY

Structural synthesis for 4-DOF parallel manipulators using screw theory issystematically studied. Motion properties and constraint conditions of 4-DOF parallel manipulatorsaccording to the relationship between screw and reciprocal screw are analyzed. Mathematicalexpressions for constraint screws and twist screws of moving platform are constructed, and allpossible limbs, which provide one or more force constraints, are enumerated. Finally, a parallelmanipulator with 3-rotation-DOF and 1-translation-DOF is used as an example to describe thesynthesis procedure for symmetrical and non-symmetrical 4-DOF parallel manipulators.

Dynamic Analysis of High-Speed Boat Motion Simulator by a Novel 3-DoF Parallel Mechanism with Prismatic Actuators Based on Seakeeping Trial

In this study,we focused on a novel parallel mechanism for utilizing the motion simulator of a high-speed boat(HSB).First,we expressed the real behavior of the HSB based on a seakeeping trial.For this purpose,we recorded the motion parameters of the HSB by gyroscope and accelerometer sensors,while using a special data acquisition technique.Additionally,a Chebychev highpass filter was applied as a noise filter to the accelerometer sensor.Then,a novel 3 degrees of freedom(DoF)parallel mechanism(1T2R)with prismatic actuators is proposed and analyses were performed on its inverse kinematics,velocity,and acceleration.Finally,the inverse dynamic analysis is presented by the principle of virtual work,and the validation of the analytical equations was compared by the ADAMS simulation software package.Additionally,according to the recorded experimental data of the HSB,the feasibility of the proposed novel parallel mechanism motion simulator of the HSB,as well as the necessity of using of the washout filters,was explored.

Type Synthesis for 4-DOF Parallel Press Mechanism Using G_F Set Theory

Parallel mechanisms is used in the large capacity servo press to avoid the over-constraint of the traditional redundant actuation. Currently, the researches mainly focus on the performance analysis for some specific parallel press mechanisms. However, the type synthesis and evaluation of parallel press mechanisms is seldom studied, especially for the four degrees of freedom（DOF） press mechanisms. The type synthesis of 4-DOF parallel press mechanisms is carried out based on the generalized function（GF） set theory. Five design criteria of 4-DOF parallel press mechanisms are firstly proposed. The general procedure of type synthesis of parallel press mechanisms is obtained, which includes number synthesis, symmetrical synthesis of constraint GF sets, decomposition of motion GF sets and design of limbs. Nine combinations of constraint GF sets of 4-DOF parallel press mechanisms, ten combinations of GF sets of active limbs, and eleven combinations of GF sets of passive limbs are synthesized. Thirty-eight kinds of press mechanisms are presented and then different structures of kinematic limbs are designed. Finally, the geometrical constraint complexity（GCC）, kinematic pair complexity（KPC）, and type complexity（TC） are proposed to evaluate the press types and the optimal press type is achieved. The general methodologies of type synthesis and evaluation for parallel press mechanism are suggested.