A genetic algorithm approach to the kinematic synthesis of a 6-DoF parallel manipulator

The main applications where parallel robots are used remain until today very limited. The best known examples include flight simulators, large vibrating tables for seismic tests, pointing systems of antennas and telescopes mirrors. Common to all these robotic devices are: (1) high accuracy, (2) high velocities and accelerations, and (3) high loading capabilities: the robot itself becomes the supporting structure. This paper presents the kinetostatic synthesis for the realization of a six degrees of freedom robotic platform with Hexaglide parallel architecture. The kinetostatic synthesis was achieved through a multi-objective optimization of the geometrical parameters with a genetic algorithm. The objectives to be achieved are concerned with: (1) the coverage of the desired workspace, (2) the static forces multiplication, (3) the longitudinal size, (4) the link-to-link interference, and (5) the link-to-rail interference.