Kinematic Synthesis of Tendon-Driven Manipulators with Isotropic Transmission Characteristics

This paper presents a methodology for kinematic synthesis of tendon-driven manipulators with isotropic transmission characteristics. The force transmission characteristics, from the end-effector space to the actuator space, has been investigated. It is shown that tendon forces required to act against externally applied forces are functions of the structure matrix, its null vector, and the manipulator Jacobian matrix. Design equations for synthesizing a manipulator to possess isotropic transmission characteristics are derived. It is shown that manipulators which possess isotropic transmission characteristics have much better force distribution among their tendons.