The dynamic and stiffness modeling of general robotic manipulator systems with antagonistic actuation

A modeling procedure for a completely general kinematic system and a stiffness formulation technique for antagonistically actuated systems are given, in a format which is directly applicable to the design of high-stiffness robotic manipulator controllers. The formulation is developed in terms of kinematic influence coefficients. This involves some generalization of an existing modeling technique so that hybrid manipulator systems (combinations of parallel and serial manipulator systems) can be systematically treated. Antagonistic stiffness, which is developed extensively, is seen to be very promising for the design and control of future manipulators with high precision requirements under various operational disturbances