Internal redundancy: an approach to improve the dynamic parameters around sharp corners

Abstract. In recent years, redundancy in parallel manipulators has been studied broadly due to its capability of overcoming some of the drawbacks of parallel manipulators including small workspaces and singular configurations. Internal redundancy, first introduced for serial manipulators, refers to the concept of adding movable masses to some links so as to allow to control the location of the centre of mass and other dynamic properties of some links. This concept has also been referred to as variable geometry. This paper investigates the effects of internal redundancy on the dynamic properties of a planar parallel manipulator while performing a family of trajectories. More specifically, the 3-RRR planar manipulator, where a movable mass has been added to the distal link, is allowed to trace trajectories with rounded corners and different radii. The proposed method uses the manipulator's dynamic model to actively optimise the location of the redundant masses at every point along the trajectory to improve the dynamic performance of the manipulator. Numerical examples are shown to support the idea.