Efficient computation of the workspace boundary, its properties and derivatives for cable-driven parallel robots

The workspace is an important property in the design of every cable-driven parallel robot. As the workspace is a complicated geometric object, it is difficult to describe changes in shape and size of the workspace when varying the design parameters of the robot. In this paper, we present an efficient method called differential workspace hull to describe and compute the workspace properties. The method is based on a triangulation of the surface of the robot's workspace. Furthermore, we establish an algorithm that allows to compute the influence of small changes in the design parameters on the workspace shape. A numerical example underlines the computational efficiency and accuracy of the presented method.