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In this paper the effect of kinematic redundancy in order to reduce the singularity loci of the direct kinematics and to increase the operational, i.e., singularity-free, workspace is demonstrated. The proposed approach consists of additional prismatic actuators allowing one or more base joints to move linearly. As a result, a selective reconfiguration can be performed in order to avoid singular configurations. Exemplarily, kinematically redundant schemes of four structures, the 3RRR, the 3RPR, the 6UPS, and the 6RUS, are considered. The relationship between the redundancy and the operational workspace is studied and several analysis examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed concept. Furthermore, the additional benefit of an increasing number of redundant actuators is discussed. |
