On the Determination of the Workspace of Complex Planar Robotic Manipulators

A new method for the determination of the workspace of complex planar robotic manipulators is described in this paper. The method is based on the use of joint limits to obtain equations describing limiting curves. These limiting curves are then segmented at their mutual intersections and validated. The resulting sets of portions of curves form the envelope of the workspace. An example of the application of the method to a hybrid three-degree-of-freedom planar manipulator is given.