Geometrical Conditions for the

Design of Partial or Full

Isotropic Hexapods
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Irene Fassi*
ITIA-CNR
Viale Lombardia 20/A
20131 Milano, Italy
e-mail: i.fassi@itia.cnr.it

Giovanni Legnani and Diego Tosi

Università di Brescia
Dip. Ing. Meccanica
Via Branze 38
25123 Brescia, Italy
e-mail: giovanni.legnani@ing.unibs.it

Received 22 September 2003; accepted 7 May 2005

This paper presents a methodology for the design of PKMs 共parallel kinematic machines兲
with defined isotropy and stiffness. Partial isotropy or full isotropy can be achieved by suit-
able design choices. The former is useful for five axis applications, while the latter for six
axis manipulators. The paper summarizes the concept of full and partial isotropy, and for
a wide class of hexapods defines in analytical form the conditions to achieve it exactly.
These conditions can be used to design isotropic parallel manipulators. The methodology
requires that the six legs have to be divided into two groups 共terns兲. The legs belonging
to one tern are mutually identical and are positioned with radial symmetry with respect
to the TCP 共tool center point兲. The paper shows that the manipulator structure can be
defined in term of 13 design parameters, the value of six of them are chosen in order to
achieve the required isotropy and stiffness properties, while the remaining seven param-
eters can be used to optimize the structure. The design criterion here presented assures
that stiffness isotropy, force, and velocity isotropy are all achieved contemporarily. This
methodology can be practically applied to a large family of hexapods. © 2005 Wiley Peri-
odicals, Inc.

1. INTRODUCTION hibits a homogeneous behavior for some kinetostatic

In relation to PKMs 共parallel kinematic machines兲 or
serial manipulators, isotropy means that the robot ex-
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Fax: ⫹39-02 23699
915.
properties in all the directions of the working space;
force, velocity and stiffness isotropy can be defined.
The concept of robot isotropy was firstly introduced
in 1982 by Salisbury and Craig, for the design of ma-
nipulator hands with serial kinematics.1 Since then,
many researches have been carried out, especially for

Journal of Robotic Systems 22(10), 507–518 (2005) © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). • DOI: 10.1002/rob.20074
508 • Journal of Robotic Systems—2005
control purposes. The main thrust on isotropy and
isotropic manipulators was given by Angeles and his
co-workers. Angeles and López Cajún2 defined a se-
rial nonredundant manipulator as isotropic when its
Jacobian matrix satisfies the relation
JT · J = ␭I6⫻6 共1兲
where ␭ is a scalar and I6⫻6 is a 6 ⫻ 6 identity matrix.
However to give significance to this condition it is es-
sential to normalize the units by dividing all the ma-
nipulator lengths by a proper scaling factor 共“charac-
teristic length”兲.3 A methodology to evaluate the
characteristic length is presented also in Section 2.2.
As an alternative approach, Rico and Duffy4 dis-
cussed the concept of isotropic design of serial robots,
highlighting that, without normalization, the physi-
cal meaning of isotropy was lost, simply because the
rows of J are the normalized coordinates of a line, that
are not homogeneous in units. They reassessed the
idea of robot isotropy introducing more relaxed con-
ditions, mirroring the structure of the Euclidean
group.
Angeles’ approach has been transposed to paral-
lel manipulators, where several applications have
been done 共e.g., refs. 5 and 6兲.
Isotropy is also related to singularity. Mathemati-
cally speaking, a mechanism is in a singularity con-
dition when det共J兲 = 0; in this configuration it is com-
pletely anisotropic. A PKM in singular configuration
gains one ore more DOF 共degree of freedom兲 and the
mobile platform cannot resist one or more forces or
torques applied to it even if the actuators are locked.7
In the neighborhood of the singularity point the PKM
loses its kinematic stiffness, and consequently its
working capability, being det共J兲 approximating to
zero. This is significant especially for applications re-
quiring precision, accuracy and stiffness, and having
high loads applied at the end effector, as when
machining.
Several attempts have been made to measure the
degree of isotropy as well as the distance from sin-
gularities, defining proper indices.7
Most of the adopted criteria to evaluate the isot-
ropy and the dexterity of robotic manipulators and
systems are based on the determinant, the condition
number or on the singular values of J.8 The singular
values ␴min and ␴max represent the minimum and the
maximum principal axis of an ellipsoid 共manipulabil-
ity ellipsoid兲, while det共J兲 is related to the volume of
the ellipsoid. By virtue of the duality between kine-
matic and statics, ␴min and ␴max are also measures of
the stiffness of the mechanism. The bigger the vol-
ume, the more rigid the manipulator is. The mapping
of the condition number c, ␴min, and of det共J兲, can be
used for a rough evaluation of the usable workspace.
These indexes have been introduced by
Yoshikawa,9 for serial manipulators and then applied
to PKMs by Gosselin et al.,10 Bhattacharya et al.,5
Merlet,11 and others.
A workspace without singular configurations is
an important prerequisite for the selection of the right
geometrical parameters but this is not enough. In ref.
12 it has been pointed out that the non-uniform force
and velocity transmission and stiffness characteristics
in the overall workspace are among the main draw-
backs of PKMs. This non-uniformity can be signifi-
cantly reduced with an optimal selection of the geo-
metrical parameters of the machine, improving the
isotropic behavior. In isotropic configurations, the
condition number of J is equal to one, the machine
performs very well with regards to its force,
motion transmission capabilities and stiffness
characteristics.9
In relation to parallel kinematic machines 共PKM兲,
some works on the design of isotropic manipulators
have been developed.6,13–19 In ref. 16, a class of 2 DOF
robots, based on a five bar mechanism, has been con-
sidered in order to determine the loci of gripper po-
sitions with the same condition number. The loci is a
line that can be exended to a surface adding a further
rotational DOF. Two cases of planar mechanisms
have been studied in ref. 19; other planar mechanisms
have been considered in ref. 18, while spherical sys-
tems are studied in refs. 17 and 20.
Some existing 3 DOF PKMs21–23 have been de-
signed in order to have an isotropic behavior and
there is a special family of fully isotropic mechanisms
that exhibit outstanding properties, as they are free
from singularities and show a constant orthogonal
Jacobian matrix throughout their workspace.24–27
Although 6 DOF full-isotropic PKM in the whole
workspace can be possibly realized, no one has been
proposed until now.
Generally a robot is called isotropic if it possesses
at least one isotropic configuration. The objective of
one optimization criterion could be the selection of
geometrical parameters such as the machine is isotro-
pic in the middle of the workspace and almost iso-
tropic in all the points of the usable workspace.
Many attempts to design perfect isotropic hexa-
pods have been done 共e.g., ref. 28兲, but only ap-
proximate solutions have been found 共e.g.,
ref. 29兲.
 Fassi et al.: Geometrical Conditions for the Design • 509
Figure 1. A schematic representation of a Stewart-Gough
platform and its reference systems.
The aim of this paper is to present a methodology
that provides the geometrical criteria to be satis-
fied in order to assume that the PKM is perfectly
isotropic in the center of its working space. This
methodology is an extension of the approximate
methodology presented by one of the authors in
ref. 8. Since many design parameters are free,
they can be utilized to assure that the PKM is suf-
ficiently close to isotropy in the rest of the work-
ing space.
The paper is organized as follows: in Section 2 ba-
sic concepts on PKMs are reviewed, while in Section
3 the concept of isotropy is defined in its more gen-
eralised way and the concept of partial and full isot-
ropy is introduced.
In Section 4 the geometry of the considered PKM
family is presented together with the geometrical
conditions for isotropy. Conclusions are drawn in
Section 5.
2. BASIC THEORY
2.1. Kinetostatic Analysis
A schematic representation of a hexapod 共Stewart-
Gough platform30,31兲 is presented in Figure 1. The
pose of the mobile platform is controlled by actua-
tors acting on the extensible legs.
Its kinetostatic properties can be studied using
the well known relations:
Q̇ = JṠ, F s = J TF q , 共2兲
where J is the Jacobian matrix which relates the grip-
per velocity Ṡ with those of the actuators Q̇, as well
as the forces 共or torques兲 Fq exerted by them with the
forces and the torques Fs applied to the mobile base:
Ṡ = 关vx,vy,vz, ␻x, ␻y, ␻z兴T, Q̇ = 关q̇1,q̇2,q̇3,q̇4,q̇5,q̇6兴T ,
Fq = 关f1,f2,f3,f4,f5,f6兴T, Fs = 关fx,fy,fz,tx,ty,tz兴T , 共3兲
where the elements of Ṡ are the linear velocity of the
TCP 共tool center point兲 and the angular velocity of the
mobile platform, qi is the length of the ith leg and q̇i
the velocity of its actuator, fi is the axial force 共actua-
tor force兲 acting on the ith leg, and the elements of Fs
are the forces exerted by the TCP and the torques ex-
erted by the mobile platform. The Jacobian assumes
the following structure:
冤 冥
w1x w1y w1z u1x u1y u1z
w2x w2y w2z u2x u2y u2z
w3x w3y w3z u3x u3y u3z
J= = 关JF ] JT兴,
w4x w4y w4z u4x u4y u4z
w5x w5y w5z u5x u5y u5z
w6x w6y w6z u6x u6y u6z
ui = pi ⫻ wi , 共4兲
where wi is the unit vector of the ith leg and pi is the
vector giving the position of the ideal center of the ith
spherical joint with respect to the mobile frame.
Since J appears both in the velocity and in the
force/torques relations, the set of the two Eqs. 共2兲 is
said to represent the “kinetostatic duality.”
2.2. Determination of the Characteristic Length
As already mentioned, for 6 DOF fully parallel
PKMs, the optimization results based on Jacobian re-
lated indices are not always satisfactory: in most of
the cases, in fact, J is not consistent in units 共three
elements of each column are radians, while the oth-
ers are lengths兲 and the above mentioned indexes
must be generalized in order to prevent them losing
significance.
To overcome this problem, many solutions have
been proposed. Among them, Angeles3 suggested to
510 • Journal of Robotic Systems—2005
divide the length units by a characteristic length. Lee
et al.32 proposed a “quality index” for PKMs, that
considers the ratio between the absolute value of
det共J兲 in a given configuration and its greatest abso-
lute value in the optimum configuration. Takeda et
al.33 introduced a “global isotropy index” based on
the concepts of transmission index34 and
Yoshikawa’s manipulability ellipsoid. However,
none of these mentioned indexes is able to highlight
the different contribution to stiffness and isotropy
due to translation and rotation. Only recently an ap-
proach that overcame this problem has been
presented35,28 and “Celerius” the first Italian PKM
for five axis milling operations have been developed
by ITIA-CNR using optimization criteria based on
the quoted indexes.35 This machine exhibits an iso-
tropic behavior in the middle of its workspace and it
is almost isotropic in all the other points of the use-
ful workspace.
Hereafter, a procedure to evaluate the character-
istic length, adapted from ref. 29, is introduced. This
procedure can be easily generalized to manipulators
with different kinematic structure.
We need to find the value L of a “characteristics
length” to be used to normalize all the dimensions of
the manipulator in such a way that the elements are
homogeneous in units.
Since JT has the unit of length, we divide all its
elements by L, getting
冤 冥
1 T
JFTJF J JT
L F
J TJ = . 共5兲
1 T 1 In particularly considering a 3 DOF spatial ma-
JTJF 2 JTTJT
L L
Assuming that JF and JT are both 6*3 matrices the
condition of isotropy 关Eq. 共1兲兴 requires JFTJF
= 共1/L2兲JTTJT and so trace共JFTJF兲 = trace„共1/L2兲JTTJT…,
which is equivalent to trace共JFTJF兲 = 共1/L2兲trace共JTTJT兲.
It is important to stress that obviously the condition
on the traces is necessary, but not sufficient to assure
the isotropy condition. The characteristics length can
be evaluated as
L= 冑 trace共JTTJT兲
trace共JFTJF兲
. 共6兲
For general manipulators with NDOF ⬍ 6, if the di-
mension nt and nf of JTTJT and JFTJF are different to
each others this condition changes as
L= 冑 nf trace共JTTJT兲
nt trace共JFTJF兲
. 共7兲
Remembering that for a hexapod the Jacobian has
the structure of Eq. 共4兲, it is immediate to workout
that trace共JFTJF兲 = 兺i=1
6
兩wi兩2 = 6 共wi are unit vectors兲 and
trace共JTJT兲 = 兺i=1兩ui兩2 = 兺i=1
T 6 6
兩pi兩2 sin共␸i兲2 where ␸i is the
angle between pi and wi and so Eq. 共6兲 simplifies to
L= 冑 trace共JTTJT兲
trace共JFTJF兲
= 冑 兺i=1 兩pi兩2sin共␸i兲2
6
6
共8兲
since generally the values of ␸i varies in dependence
on the PKM configuration, the value of L also varies
within the working space and so in general the value
of L is not specific to a PKM but depends also on the
PKM configuration.
This normalization, even though it does not pro-
vide any information on stiffness, allows to compare
different PKMs architectures with regard to isotropy.
3. THE CONCEPT OF ISOTROPY
3.1. General Definitions
A robot is called “isotropic” if at least in one point of
the working space some of its kinetostatic properties
are homogeneous with respect to all the directions.
nipulator with S = 关x , y , z兴T the following definitions
can be applied:
• Velocity isotropy. A manipulator is isotropic
with respect to the velocity, if it can perform
the same velocity in all directions. This prop-
erty can be investigated by means of the “ve-
locity ellipsoid.”9
• Force isotropy. A manipulator is isotropic
with respect to the force, if it can exert the
same force in all directions. This property can
be investigated by means of the “force
•
ellipsoid.”9
Stiffness isotropy. A manipulator is isotropic
with respect to the stiffness, if the deflection
of the TCP produced by a unitary force ap-
plied to it is always in the direction of the
force and its magnitude is independent of the
force direction.

These concepts can be easily extended to general
6 DOF manipulators.
All these concepts of isotropy can be analyzed
studying the condition number of the matrix JTHJ
where H is a proper weighting matrix to be suitable
defined. 关For a general matrix A the condition num-
ber is defined as cond共A兲 = 储A储储A−1储. If the “spectral
norm” is considered 共the maximum singular value
of A兲, the condition number equals the ratio between
the maximum and the minimum of the singular val-
ues cond共A兲 = ␴max共A兲/␴min共A兲.兴 By means of the ki-
netostatic duality, in many situations it is possible to
achieve simultaneously isotropy in velocity, force
and stiffness 共for instance when H is the identity
matrix兲.
3.2. Stiffness Isotropy
In this paper we analyze in detail only stiffness isot-
ropy.
Assuming that the actuators are locked and that
they are the only sources of compliance, the force Fs
to be applied to the end effector to produce a motion
dS is
Fs = JTKqJdS, Kq = diag共. . .,ki, . . . 兲,
where ki is the stiffness of the ith actuator. This equa-
tion is easily obtained remembering that from Eq. 共2兲
dQ = JdS and Fq = KqdQ with
dS = 关dx,dy,dz,d␣,d␤,d␥兴T =
dXT,d⌽T,
Fs = 关fx,fy,fz,tx,ty,tz兴T = 关FT,TT兴T .
The manipulator compliance is synthetically
represented by its stiffness matrix Ks:
Ks = JTKqJ.
A general 6 DOF manipulator is full isotropic
with respect to stiffness if Ks has the following diag-
onal structure:
Ks = diag共kxx,kyy,kzz,k␣␣,k␤␤,k␥␥兲,
with kxx = kyy = kzz = kx and k␣␣ = k␤␤ = k␥␥ = k␾ .
Fassi et al.: Geometrical Conditions for the Design • 511
In this case it results in
F = kxdX,
T = k␾d⌽, 共13兲
this means that:
• forces applied to the TCP do not produce ro-
tations but only translations;
• the translation is proportional to the force
and parallel to it regardless to the force direc-
tion;
• torques applied to the TCP do not produce
translations but only rotations;
• the rotation is proportional to the torque and
occurs around the same axis as the applied
torque.
The manipulator is isotropic with respect to stiff-
ness if exists a scalar ␭ for which
共9兲
cond共KLKsKL兲 = 1, KL = diag共1,1,1,1/␭,1/␭,1/␭兲.
共14兲
If the manipulator is isotropic, Ks has the struc-
ture of Eq. 共11兲 and Eq. 共12兲 and so ␭ = 冑k␾/kx. This
condition is very similar to that adopted to normal-
ize the Jacobian using the characteristic length.
In the special case in which all the actuators are
identical to each other and therefore they have the
same stiffness k, Eq. 共10兲 simplifies as Ks = kJTJ and
the condition number of the matrix JTJ can be inves-
tigated instead that of JTKqJ.
In this case the isotropy for velocity, force and
共10兲 stiffness are achieved contemporarily and the condi-
tion of Eq. 共1兲 is satisfied.
With reference to Eq. 共11兲, a PKM is partially iso-
tropic if it yields
kxx = kyy ⫽ kzz and k␣␣ = k␤␤ ⫽ k␥␥ . 共15兲
共11兲
The concept of partial isotropy can be useful for
the design of five axis manipulators 共e.g., milling
machines, where z is the direction of the spindle
共12兲 axis兲.
512 • Journal of Robotic Systems—2005
Figure 2. Definitions for legs 1, 2, and 3; definitions for legs 4, 5, and 6 are analogue.
3.3. Velocity and Force Isotropy
The concept of velocity and force isotropy can be
studied using the concept of manipulability ellip-
soids defined in ref. 9. Shortly, assuming that the
joint velocities are chosen with the constrain that
Q̇TQ̇ = 1, we get ṠTJTJṠ = 1 which is a quadratic form
in the end-effector velocity. This defines an ellipsoid
associated to JTJ. The axes of the ellipsoid are pro-
portional to the singular values of J. Velocity isot-
ropy requires that the ellipsoid becomes a sphere for
which we have cond共JTJ兲 = 1.
Similarly, from the condition FqTFq = 1 we get
FS 共J J兲 FS = 1 which defines the force manipulability
T T −1
ellipsoid associated to 共JTJ兲−1.
Practical use of these concepts requires the nor-
malization of the Jacobian by means of the charac-
teristic length.
Since for any matrix A it yields cond共A兲
= cond共A−1兲 then velocity isotropy requires force
isotropy and vice versa.
Recently36 these definitions have been extended
to take into account intrinsic differences between the
actuators of the different joints that may be of differ-
ent type 共revolute or prismatic兲 or may have differ-
ent performances 共maximum allowable force fi,max or
velocity vi,max兲. In this case the conditions of isotropy
change as36
cond共JTK−2
v J兲 = 1, Kv = diag共. . .,q̇i max, . . . 兲, 共16兲
cond„共JTK2f J兲−1… = 1, Kf = diag共. . .,fi max, . . . 兲.
共17兲
4. CONDITIONS TO ACHIEVE ISOTROPY
4.1. Introduction and Definitions
Since the isotropy depends on the jacobian which
varies within the working space, the proposed meth-
odology leads to the design of a hexapod which is
exactly 共full or partially兲 isotropic in the center of the
working space where the PKM will have also the
required stiffness. Suitable design choices will assure
that the requested kinetostatic properties will not
change too much in the rest of the working space.
To describe the PKM structure the following ref-
erence frames are defined 共Figures 1 and 2兲:
• Tool frame: xyz origin in TCP, z axis exiting
from mobile platform.
• Leg frame1: x1y1z1 origin in TCP, z1 axis ex-
iting from mobile platform, x1 axis in such a
way that leg 1 is parallel to plane x1z1.
• Leg frame2: x2y2z2 origin in TCP, z2 axis ex-
iting from mobile platform, x2 axis in such a
way that leg 4 is parallel to plane x2z2.
• Absolute frame: x0y0z0 共parallel with the tool
frame when the manipulator is in home
position兲.
Axes z, z1 and z2 are all coincident to each other. The
tool frame, leg frame1 and leg frame2 are embedded
onto the mobile platform.
The presented methodology requires that the
legs are divided into two groups 共also called terns兲:
legs 1, 2 and 3 form the first group and legs 4, 5 and
6 form the second one. The three legs of one group
are mutually identical while legs belonging to differ-
ent groups can be different.
 Fassi et al.: Geometrical Conditions for the Design • 513

The legs of each group are positioned with ra- w*1 = 关− sin共␣1兲 0 cos共␣1兲兴T ,
dial symmetry with respect to the z axis. Moreover
in the center of the working space:
• The projections of the unit vectors of the legs w*2 = 关− sin共␣2兲 0 cos共␣2兲兴T , 共20兲
of one group onto the plane xy will form
angles of 120°.
• The three legs of one group will form the p*1 = 关a1,b1,c1兴T p*2 = 关a2,b2,c2兴T . 共21兲
same angle with respect to axis z.
• On the mobile platform, the spherical joints Points of particular interest are the intersections p1⬘
of the three legs of the same group will be and p1⬙ of leg 1 respectively with planes y1z1 and x1y1
placed with radial symmetry with respect to 共and similarly p2⬘ and p2⬙ for leg 4兲:
axis z.

Each leg defines a unit vector representing the p1⬘ = 关0,b1,c1⬘兴T, p2⬘ = 关0,b2,c2⬘兴T ,
direction of a line connecting the center of its spheri-
cal joints. The unit vector of the ith leg will be indi-
cated as wi = 关wix , wiy , wiz兴T. The location of the ci⬘ = ci + ai cos共␣i兲/sin共␣i兲 for sin共␣i兲 ⫽ 0, 共22兲
spherical joint of the ith leg on the mobile platform
will be indicated as pi = 关pix , piy , piz兴T.
In frame xyz we get 共Figure 2兲 p1⬙ = 关a1⬙,b1,0兴T, p2⬙ = 关a2⬙,b2,0兴T ,

w1 = rot共Z,⌿1兲w*1, w4 = rot共Z,⌿2兲w*2 ,
ai⬙ = ai + ci sin共␣i兲/cos共␣i兲 for cos共␣i兲 ⫽ 0. 共23兲

The stiffness of the legs of the first and of the

second group will be denoted respectively as k1 and
w2 = rot共Z,⌿1 + 120 ° 兲w*1, w5 = rot共Z,⌿2 + 120 ° 兲w*2 ,
k2 and so

w3 = rot共Z,⌿1 − 120 ° 兲w*1,
p1 = rot共Z,⌿1兲p*1,
Kq = diag共k1,k1,k1,k2,k2,k2兲.
w6 = rot共Z,⌿2 − 120 ° 兲w*2 ,
The angle ␥i between two legs of the same group
共18兲
depends on the inclination angle ␣i as cos共␥i兲
= wTh wk = 23 cos共␣i兲2 − 21 共h , k = 1 , 2 for i = 1; h , k = 4 , 5 for
i = 2兲. The legs are orthogonal to each others for
cos共␣i兲 = 冑3/3, ␣i ⬵ 55°.
p4 = rot共Z,⌿2兲p*2 ,

4.2. Stiffness Matrix

p2 = rot共Z,⌿1 + 120 ° 兲p*1, p5 = rot共Z,⌿2 + 120 ° 兲p*2 , The stiffness matrix, which is symmetric, can be
evaluated by its definition 关Eq. 共10兲兴 and partitioned
in four 3 ⫻ 3 blocks:

p3 = rot共Z,⌿1 − 120 ° 兲p*1, p6 = rot共Z,⌿2 − 120 ° 兲p*2 ,

共19兲
K s = J TK qJ = 冋 Kff Kft
Ktf Ktt
册 , Kff = KTff , Ktt = KttT ,

共24兲
Kft = KtfT ,
where rot means rotation and angle ⌿i is the angle
between axes xi and x while w*i and p*i are defined us- performing the matrix multiplication and after suit-
ing frame xiyizi: able simplifications of the results it is possible to
514 • Journal of Robotic Systems—2005

冤 冥
express matrix Ks as the sum of two terms each one kixx 0 0
depending only on the legs of one group:
Kiff = 0 kiyy 0

Ks = Ks1 + Ks2, Ksi = 冋 Kiff Kift

册 , 共25兲
0 0 kizz

冤 冥
Kitf Kitt sin共␣i兲2 0 0
3
= ki 0 sin共␣i兲 2
0 , 共26兲
where i = 1 , 2 denotes the leg groups. The submatrices 2
0 0 2 cos共␣i兲 2
are

冤 冥 冤 冥
kix␣ kix␤ 0 bi sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 ci sin共␣i兲2 − ai sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 0
3
Kift = kiy␣ kiy␤ 0 = ki − c i sin共 ␣ i 兲 2
+ a i sin共 ␣ i 兲cos共 ␣ i 兲 b i sin共 ␣ i 兲cos共 ␣ i 兲 0 ,
2
0 0 kiz␥ 0 0 − 2bi sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲
共27兲

冤 冥
ki␣␣ 0 0
Kitt = 0 ki␤␤ 0
0 0 ki␥␥

冤 冥
共ai2 + bi2兲cos共␣i兲2 + ci sin共␣i兲2 − 2aici sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 0 0
3
= ki 0 共ai2 + bi2兲cos共␣i兲2 + ci sin共␣i兲2 − 2aici sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 0 .
2
0 0 2bi2 sin共␣i兲 2

共28兲

A first result is that these expressions, and so the PKM characteristics, are independent from the rotations
angles ⌿1 and ⌿2.
The form of these matrices can be further simplified using the definitions of pi⬘ and pi⬙.
In fact highlighting ci⬘ 共for sin ␸i ⫽ 0兲 we get the equivalent formulation:

冤 冥 冤 冥
kix␣ kix␤ 0 bi sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 ci⬘ sin共␣i兲2 0
3
Kift = kiy␣ kiy␤ 0 = ki − ci⬘ sin共␣i兲 2
bi sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 0 , 共29兲
2
0 0 kiz␥ 0 0 − 2bi sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲

冤 冥 冤 冥
ki␣␣ 0 0 b2i cos共␣i兲2 + ci⬘2 sin共␣i兲2 0 0
3
Kitt = 0 ki␤␤ 0 = ki 0 b2i cos共␣i兲 + ci⬘ sin共␣i兲
2 2 2
0 , 共30兲
2
0 0 ki␥␥ 0 0 2b2i sin共␣i兲 2

while highlighting ai⬙ 共for cos ␸i ⫽ 0兲 it yields

冤 冥 冤 冥
kix␣ kix␤ 0 bi sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 − ai⬙ sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 0
3
Kift = kiy␣ kiy␤ 0 = ki ai⬙ sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 bi sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲 0 , 共31兲
2
0 0 kiz␥ 0 0 − 2bi sin共␣i兲cos共␣i兲
 Fassi et al.: Geometrical Conditions for the Design • 515

冤 冥 冤 冥
ki␣␣ 0 0 共ai⬙2 + b2i 兲cos共␣i兲2 0 0
3
Kitt = 0 ki␤␤ 0 = ki 0 共ai⬙ +
2
b2i 兲cos共␣i兲2 0 . 共32兲
2
0 0 ki␥␥ 0 0 2b2i sin共␣i兲2

Equations 共27兲, 共29兲, and 共31兲 are equivalent to each other, as well as Eqs. 共28兲, 共30兲, and 共32兲.

4.3. Condition for Partial and Full Isotropy

Due to the symmetry of Ks and to the particular structure of Kff and Ktt, the partial isotropy requires kx␤ = 0,
kx␣ = 0 共the other elements will become automatically null兲:

k1 b2 sin共␣2兲cos共␣2兲
k1x␣ + k2x␣ = 0 ⇒ =− , 共33兲
k2 b1 sin共␣1兲cos共␣1兲

k1 a2⬙ sin共␣2兲cos共␣2兲 c⬘ k2 sin共␣2兲2

k1x␤ + k2x␤ = 0 ⇒ =− ⇔ 1 =− , 共34兲
k2 a1⬙ sin共␣1兲cos共␣1兲 c2⬘ k1 sin共␣1兲2

since k1 , k2 ⬎ 0 it results that c1⬘ and c2⬘ must have opposite signs and so the TCP must lie between the points
p1⬘ and p2⬘ which are the intersections of the projections on the plane xizi of the lines defined by the legs of
group 1 and 2 with axis z 共Figure 3兲.
Due to the particular structure of Kff and Ktt, full isotropy requires only the following two further condi-
tions:

kxx = kzz ⇒
⇒ k1„1 − 3 cos共␣1兲2… = − k2„1 − 3 cos共␣2兲2… ⇒
k1 1 − 3 cos共␣2兲2
⇒ =− , 共35兲
k2 1 − 3 cos共␣1兲2

k␣␣ = k␥␥ ⇒

⇒ k1„2b21 − 共a1⬙2 + 3b21兲cos共␣1兲2… = − k2„2b22 − 共a2⬙2 + 3b22兲cos共␣2兲2… ⇒

k1 2b22 − 共a2⬙2 + 3b22兲cos共␣2兲2

⇒ =− 2 . 共36兲
k2 2b1 − 共a1⬙2 + 3b21兲cos共␣1兲2

Velocity and force isotropy are achieved simultaneously with stiffness isotropy if the matrices Kv, Kf, and
Ks are proportional to each other.

4.4. PKM Design for Controlled Isotropy
and Stiffness
The kinetostatic properties of the PKM in the pose
where the design is performed depends on the eight
parameters b1, c1⬘, k1, ␣1, b2, c2⬘, k2 and ␣2 which can
be utilized to optimize the structure.
When partial isotropy is requested, the first two
equations to be satisfied are 共33兲 and 共34兲, then the
required stiffness is achieved imposing the value of
kxx, kzz, k␣␣ and k␥␥ 关see Eq. 共25兲兴. We have a total of
six equations in eight parameters and so two param-
eters can be freely assigned in order to optimize the
design.
To achieve full isotropy, the essential condition
are expressed by the four equations 共33兲–共36兲 while
516 • Journal of Robotic Systems—2005

Figure 3. TCP must lie between the points p*1⬘ and p*2⬘.

the required stiffness is achieved imposing the value

of kxx, and k␣␣ 关see Eq. 共25兲兴. In this case we have also
a total of six equations in eight parameters and so Figure 4. The relation between ␣1 and ␣2 for k1 = k2.
two parameters can be used to optimize the PKM
properties.
Since the relations between the design param-
eters are nonlinear the value of the free parameters The isotropic design of the octahedron based
are restricted to some range. For example if we wish PKM is discussed in ref. 28.
to design a full isotropic PKM having six identical Figure 5 shows, as an example, a possible shape
legs 共and so k1 = k2兲 from Eq. 共35兲 we get cos共␣1兲2 for the fixed and the mobile platforms. Figure 6
shows two alternative leg configurations.
+ cos共␣2兲2 = 32 and so the value of one of the
As a further example we just mention that if all
inclination angles 共␣1 or ␣2兲 can be assigned under
the six legs are identical 共k1 = k2兲 and if their inclina-
the restriction that cos共␣i兲2 艋 32 in fact cos共␣3−i兲
tions are also chosen to be identical 共␣1 = ␣2兲 then we
= 冑 32 − cos共␣i兲2. The relation between ␣1 and ␣2 for get sin共␣1兲 = sin共␣2兲 = 共2/3兲1/2, cos共␣1兲 = cos共␣2兲
k1 = k2 is graphically represented in Figure 4. = 共1/3兲 , b1 = −b2, c1⬘ = −c2⬘ and 2c1⬘ = b1. The directions
1/2
The proposed methodology assures that the re- of the legs defines three orthogonal directions rst.
quested isotropy and stiffness are exactly achieved With appropriate values of the angles ⌿1 and ⌿2
in one point of the working space where the design 共⌿1 = ⌿2 = 0兲 the locations of the legs are those sche-
procedure is applied 共probably the center of the matically shown in Figure 7. The legs must be all at
working space兲. Since the PKM properties depend
on the Jacobian and so on the pose of the mobile
platform, the value of the two free parameters can be
adjusted in order to optimize the hexapod perfor-
mance in the whole working area. This optimization
can be improved taking into account also the follow-
ing further parameters: the value of ⌿1 or ⌿2 and
the actual location of the spherical joints on the mo-
bile and on the fixed base. For symmetry one of the
two angles 共⌿1 or ⌿2兲 can be arbitrarily fixed to 0.
Since the direction of the legs in the initial position is
given, and looking for a PKM with radial symmetry
two parameters are necessary to define the location
of the joints of each group of legs: the distance of the
joints of the mobile platform from the point p⬘ and
the initial leg lengths 共and so the location of the
fixed joints兲. The optimization will be based on the
working space and on the mobile platform rotations Figure 5. Example of PKM design. Mobile platform
required for the specific application. white, fixed base dashed.
 Fassi et al.: Geometrical Conditions for the Design • 517
Figure 6. Two possible configurations of the legs.
the same distance from the frame axis to which they
are parallel.
5. CONCLUSIONS
A procedure for the design of hexapods with pre-
defined stiffness properties has been presented.
To study force isotropy or velocity isotropy it is
sufficient to consider the maximum joint velocities or
forces 关see Eqs. 共16兲 and 共17兲兴 rather than the actuator
stiffness.
The concept of partial and full isotropy is defined
and conditions for their achievement are given in
analytical form.
Figure 7. Educational example of leg placement to
achieve full isotropy.
The paper shows that if both stiffness and veloc-
ity isotropy are to be contemporarily assured, the legs
compliance and their maximum velocity must be
chosen with specified ratios.
The procedure is based on 13 design parameters.
Eight of them influence the PKM properties in the
center of the working space, but just six conditions
are necessary to achieve the requested kinetostatic
properties. The other seven parameters can be used to
optimize the hexapod performance in the whole
working space and to satisfy other task specific de-
sign goals.
The procedure can be applied to a wide class of
radial symmetric PKM.
Adopting the presented methodology, a family
having an infinite number of isotropic PKM can be
generated. A different family of solutions can be gen-
erated using another methodology recently pub-
lished by Tsai and Huang.37 The two families have an
element in common that is the PKM of Figure 7. How-
ever, the approach of ref. 37 requires that the three
legs of each group are orthogonal to each other and
has the limitation that all six legs must be identical to
each other 共same stiffness, maximum velocity, and
maximum force兲.
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