Parallel manipulator

Related papers: 20

About

A parallel manipulator is a robotic mechanism in which multiple kinematic chains connect a fixed base to a single moving platform simultaneously, with each chain typically driven by its own actuator. Unlike serial manipulators where joints are arranged in a single open chain, parallel manipulators distribute loads across all chains in parallel, resulting in significantly higher structural stiffness, load-bearing capacity, and positional accuracy. The Stewart platform—a six-degree-of-freedom parallel mechanism using six extensible legs—is perhaps the most well-known example, widely used in flight simulators, precision machining, and medical robotics. In robotics and automation, parallel manipulators excel in high-speed pick-and-place operations, force-controlled assembly, and applications demanding precise end-effector positioning under heavy loads. Their compact, closed-loop kinematic structure, however, introduces analytical challenges including complex singularity configurations, limited workspace compared to serial counterparts, and intricate forward kinematics. Understanding parallel manipulators matters because they offer performance characteristics—speed, stiffness, and accuracy—that serial designs fundamentally cannot match, making them essential for next-generation manufacturing, surgical robotics, and precision instrumentation systems.

Top Cited Papers

A unified approach for motion and force control of robot manipulators: The operational space formulation

Oussama Khatib

Citations: 2917 • 1987

Robot Analysis: The Mechanics of Serial and Parallel Manipulators

Lung‐Wen Tsai

Citations: 1851 • 1999

Singularity analysis of closed-loop kinematic chains

Clément Gosselin, Jorge Angeles

Citations: 1719 • 1990

A Global Performance Index for the Kinematic Optimization of Robotic Manipulators

Clément Gosselin, Jorge Angeles

Citations: 948 • 1991

Structural Kinematics of In-Parallel-Actuated Robot-Arms

K. H. Hunt

Citations: 860 • 1983

A Stewart Platform- Based Manipulator: General Theory and Practical Construction

E. F. Fichter

Citations: 794 • 1986

Parallel Robots

Jean‐Pierre Merlet

Citations: 705 • 2000

The Stewart platform manipulator: a review

Bhaskar Dasgupta, T.S. Mruthyunjaya

Citations: 699 • 2000

The NIST robocrane

James S. Albus, Roger Bostelman, Nicholas G. Dagalakis

Citations: 575 • 1993

A combined optimization method for solving the inverse kinematics problems of mechanical manipulators

L.-C.T. Wang, C.C. Chen

Citations: 483 • 1991

Nonlinear disturbance observer design for robotic manipulators

Alireza Mohammadi, Mahdi Tavakoli, Horacio J. Marquez, Farzad Hashemzadeh

Citations: 466 • 2012

Modelling and Control of Robot Manipulators

L Sciavicco and B Siciliano

Citations: 429 • 2000

General Methodology for Type Synthesis of Symmetrical Lower-Mobility Parallel Manipulators and Several Novel Manipulators

Zhenyu Huang, Q.C. Li

Citations: 385 • 2002

High-speed manipulation by using parallel wire-driven robots

Sadao Kawamura, Hitoshi Kino, Won Choe

Citations: 370 • 2000

Foundations of Robotics

Tsuneo Yoshikawa

Citations: 348 • 1990

Performance evaluation of parallel manipulators: Motion/force transmissibility and its index

Jinsong Wang, Chao Wu, Xin-Jun Liu

Citations: 347 • 2010

Enhanced stiffness modeling, identification and characterization for robot manipulators

Gürsel Alıcı, Bijan Shirinzadeh

Citations: 344 • 2005

Robot arm geometric link parameter estimation

S. Hayati

Citations: 338 • 1983

Dynamic analysis and control of a stewart platform manipulator

G. Lebret, Kai Liu, Frank L. Lewis

Citations: 330 • 1993

The parallel approach to force/position control of robotic manipulators

S. Chiaverini, L. Sciavicco

Citations: 322 • 1993