Kinematics of General Spatial Mechanical Systems is an effective and proficient guide to the kinematic description and analysis of the spatial mechanical systems such as serial manipulators, parallel manipulators and spatial mechanisms. The author highlights the analytical and semi-analytical methods for solving the relevant equations and considers four main elements: The mathematics of spatial kinematics with the necessary theorems, formulas and methods; The kinematic description of the links and joints including the rolling contact joints; Writing the kinematic chain and loop equations for the systems to be analyzed; and Solving these equations for the unspecified variables both in the forward and inverse senses together with the multiplicity and singularity analyses.

Comprehensive in scope, the book covers topics ranging from rather elementary subjects such as spatial mechanisms with single degree of freedom to more advanced topics such as serial manipulators including redundant and deficient ones, parallel manipulators, and non-holonomic spatial cam mechanisms that involve rolling without slipping motions. The author presents an effective and accessible symbolic manipulation method making it possible to obtain neat and transparent expressions that describe the systems showing all the kinematic details. Such expressions readily lead to analytical or semi-analytical solutions. They also facilitate the identification and analysis of the multiplicities and singularities.

This all-time beneficial book:

• Provides an easy-to-use systematic formulation method that is applicable to all sorts of spatial machanisms and manipulators
• Introduces a symbolic manipulation method, which is effective and straightforward to use, so that kinematic relationships can be simplified by using all the special geometric features of the system
• Offers an accessible format that uses a systematic and easy-to-conceive notation which has proven successful

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