Sensitivity analysis of parallel manipulators using an interval linearization method

The subject of this paper is about an interval linearization method for the sensitivity analysis of manipulators to variations in their geometric parameters. First, the proposed method is presented. Then, three manipulators are used as illustrative examples: The five-bar mechanism, the 3-RRR planar parallel manipulator and the Orthoglide. The benefits and restrictions of the proposed method are also discussed and appropriate indices are derived to show the efficiency of the method. The obtained results are also compared with the results obtained with frequently used methods. The proposed method is simple to implement and provides verified results in low computational time and thus can be applied to complex robots such as the Orthoglide. In particular, the standard linearization method computes unreliable results near singularities, whereas the proposed interval linearization method automatically detects such situations.