Design optimization of parallel manipulators with required pose resolution

Performance of a parallel manipulator heavily relies on its position/orientation resolution. Without a good resolution the manipulator is difficult to achieve a high stiffness. Therefore how to obtain the required resolution is a basic issue to design a parallel manipulator. This paper presents a method to solve the problem. Firstly, the mathematical definition of the position/orientation resolution is given. Then we discuss how to calculate them using Rayleigh quotient. And the design optimization problem is formulated. Fundamental concepts of the method are illustrated through a 3-RRR planar parallel manipulator. The design process to achieve an optimized task space of the required pose resolution is also demonstrated in the example.