Type synthesis of non-holonomic spherical constraint underactuated parallel robotics

Space robotics is taken as one of the most promising approaches for on-orbit servicing missions. The under actuated non-holonomic parallel mechanism is a new direction of parallel space robotics, with small volume, lightweight, low cost, low energy consumption, and high flexibility. The existing methods on type synthesis could not generate underactuated non-holonomic parallel mechanisms with the introduction of the non-holonomic spherical pairs in parallel mechanisms. This paper is devoted to type synthesis of underactuated parallel mechanisms with spherical motion pattern accompanied by the generation of the non-holonomic spherical pairs in parallel mechanisms with spherical motion pattern. After the introduction of the traditional roller-sphere contact, this paper proposes a novel roller-sphere contact. After this paper provides the type synthesis of parallel mechanisms with spherical motion pattern, it puts forward the generation method of non-holonomic spherical pairs in parallel underactuated mechanisms with spherical motion pattern. The non-holonomic underactuated joint mechanism of a space robot for on-orbit servicing operations is taken as an example to demonstrate the proposed method.