A Kinematic-Decouple Model for Cable-Driven Manipulators with Series-Parallel Coupling Relationship

The kinematic model of cable-driven manipulators is more complicated than conventional robots due to the series-parallel coupling relationship. In this article, the kinematic-decouple model is proposed, which considers the series and parallel relationships of cable-driven manipulators. Firstly, the parallel relationship between cables and joints is analyzed based on characteristics of the structure. The series relationship of the cable-driven manipulator is solved by the Jacobi pseudo-inverse iterative method. The mapping relationship is established among task space, joint space, and driving space. Then, the configuration and end-trajectory of cable-driven manipulators are both simulated. Finally, the experiment proves the effectiveness of the kinematic-decouple model.