A 5-DOF rotation-symmetric parallel manipulator with one unconstrained tool rotation

This paper introduces a novel 5-DOF parallel manipulator with a rotation-symmetric arm system. The manipulator is unorthodox since one degree of freedom of its manipulated platform is unconstrained. Such a manipulator is still useful in a wide range of applications utilizing a rotation-symmetric tool. The manipulator workspace is analyzed for singularities and collisions. The rotation-symmetric arm system leads to a large positional workspace in relation to the footprint of the manipulator. With careful choice of structural parameters, the rotational workspace of the tool is also sizeable.