Simultaneous Trajectory Tracking and Stiffness Control of Cable Actuated Parallel Manipulator

Abstract

Cable-actuated parallel manipulators combine benefits of large workspaces, significant payload capacities and high stiffness by virtue of the cable actuation. However, redundant/surplus cables are required to overcome the unidirectional nature of forces exertable by cables. This leads to actuation redundancy which needs to be resolved in order to realize some of the benefits. We study the implication of using actuation redundancy to tailor the workspace (task space) stiffness of the cable robot system. Suitable trajectory tracking control schemes are developed that additionally achieve secondary goal of active stiffness control to improve disturbance rejection, under positive control input constraint We demonstrate the performance of these control schemes using a point-mass cable robot system modeled within a virtual prototyping (VP) implementation framework.