A New Compact Paired-Parallel Architecture for Haptic Transparency

This paper presents a highly compact paired-parallel mechanical architecture that aims for haptic transparency: accurate motion in free space and high force capability in contact. Low inertia and high stiffness of parallel manipulators are key properties to ensure force-motion fidelity in haptic applications. The proposed 7-DOF architecture combines two Delta-like translators in-parallel to a helical handle, to generate its translational and rotational motions with low coupling. The modeling of the architecture is simply written from the models of the Delta robots and the handle linkage. It shows that performances of such paired-parallel architecture derive from its components. A haptic device is designed based on this compact architecture. A prototype validates its mobility and the feasibility of the assembly.