Kinematic Analysis of Planar Tensegrity 2 X Manipulators
This paper analyzes the kinematics of planar tensegrity manipulators made of two Snelson's X shape mechanisms in series. The variable instantaneous center of rotation of each mechanism renders the kinematic analysis of the resulting manipulator more challenging. A general formulation of the direct kinematics is set. A method is proposed to solve the inverse kinematic problem in a symbolic way and up to four inverse kinematic solutions are found. The singularities of the manipulator are shown to divide the joint space into two singularity free components, showing for the first time a planar positioning manipulator that can be cuspidal. The workspace is determined and plotted for different values of the geometric parameters.
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