Acquisition of All-surrounding 3D Shape Information by a New Cable-Driven Parallel Robot

In all-surrounding 3D measurement, shape information of an object is acquired from multiple directions and merged. To apply the all-surrounding 3D measurement to plant growth monitoring cost-effective automatic imaging method with minimal spatial constraints is required. A Cable-Driven Parallel Robot (CDPR), which moves a camera using the tension of multiple cables as a means of power transmission controls the position and orientation of camera. While the CDPR is affordable and has few spatial constraints, the multiple cables limit the range of motion. The objective of the study is to construct a new CDPR for 3D reconstruction in which the cables are replaced by convex tapes. By applying tension and pressure on the camera with the convex tapes, this new CDPR can control the position and orientation of the camera with half the number of power transmission means compared to the conventional CDPR.