Kinematic Analysis of Tendon-Driven Robotic Mechanisms Using Graph Theory.

Abstract

The kinematic structure of tendon-driven robotic mechanisms has been investigated with the aid of graph theory. The correspondence between the graph representation of the kinematic structure and the mechanism has been established We have shown that the kinematic structure of tendon-driven kinematic chains is similar to that of epicyclic gear trains. We have also shown that, using the concept of fundamental circuit, displacement equations of tendon driven robotic mechanism can be systematically derived from the kinematic structure. The theory has been demonstrated by the kinematic analysis of three articulated robotic devices.