Joint-Link Parameter Assignment in Mechanisms and Robotics

Abstract

Atlases are developed which aid the student in properly evaluating the joint-link parameters to model the mechanics of mechanisms and robotic systems. Experience in conducting mechanisms and robotics courses has indicated that students often have difficulty in determining these parameters. To assist them, atlases have been developed where the student can find an illustration corresponding to the relationship between coordinate frames on links in the mechanism or robot and then read off the appropriate values of the link twist or joint rotation if that is fixed. The atlases have been developed to include all of the popular coordinate-transformation schemes, 3 × 3 dual-number coordinate transformation matrices for a link and its proximal joint, and 4 × 4 homogeneous transformation matrices for either a link with its proximal joint or a link with its distal joint. Students will find the atlas an aid for correctly assigning joint-link parameters in difficult-to-visualize mechanisms and robotic systems.