They resemble robotic serial chain mechanisms in terms of their workspace and their anthropomorphic geometry. However, unlike their robotic counterpart, they require a fewer number of actuators and are therefore not as complex. The main advantage of coupled, serial chain mechanisms comes is due to the fact that they can be easily customized to specific applications, including ones that require complex trajectories and interactions with the environment. We address the synthesis of linkages for tasks involving rigid body guidance and for prescribed force-displacement characteristics. We illustrate the application of these devices with many applications.
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Coordination of Multiple Robotic Systems with Milos Zefran, Jaydev Desai , and Tom Sugar A multifingered gripper grasping an object and a walking machine are both examples of systems which involve multiple cooperating robot subsystems. Because these systems are characterized by closed chain kinematics, they are statically indeterminate and the dynamic equations are nonlinear and coupled. The presence of nonholonomic contact constraints further complicate their analysis. Current work is directed toward determining optimal grasping and manipulation strategies using the theory of variational calculus and the methods of optimal control. This work is complemented by studies on human subjects performing two-arm manipulation tasks whose goal is to understand the optimality criteria that might underly the trajectory generation and force distribution.