Differential kinematics for calibration, system investigation, and force based forward kinematics of cable-driven parallel robots

In this paper the differential kinematics for cable-driven robots is derived and the use for calibration, system investigation and a force based forward kinematics is shown. The Jacobians for each part of the kinematic chain are derived with respect to the platform pose and the most important system parameters. Beside the consideration of geometrical quantities, the differential relations between non-geometrical quantities such as cable stiffness and cable forces are determined. The decomposition in the most fundamental Jacobians allows to analyse and compute more complex relations by reassembling the Jacobians as needed. This approach allows more insight in the system behavior and enables the reuse of the individual modules. The purpose of this paper is to provide the framework and the key equations and to show the use for calibration, force based forward kinematics and system analysis as well as for control purposes.