An analytic iterative method for tension distribution of cable-driven robots with a variable objective point

Abstract

In this paper, an analytical iterative method is presented to determine the optimal tension distribution for redundant cable-driven robots. In this method, a solution domain is defined based on the lower and upper tension limits of the cables. Then an objective function with a variable objective point is introduced. The continuous adjustment of the optimization objective point provides flexibility to increase or decrease the stiffness and energy consumption of the robot along a specified path. Furthermore, the convergence of the method to the optimal solution and the continuity of the resulting tension distribution are assured by the algorithm outlined in this study. Finally, two examples are included to compare the proposed method with some notable approaches in the literature. The first example demonstrates that other methods may fail to identify any acceptable tension distribution, while the second example illustrates the advantages of utilizing a variable objective point in the objective function.