Optimal Design of a Y‐Star Robot for the Prescribed Cylindrical Dexterous Workspace

This paper determines a set of optimal design parameters of a Y‐Star robot whose workspace is as close as possible of being equal to a prescribed cylindrical dexterous workspace (PCDW). Two requirements should be satisfied: (i) the local or global performance index; (ii) a regular shape. The kinematic problem is analysed in brief to determine the design parameters and their relation. The optimal design problem is discussed and then translated into two linear problems. Then, an optimal design procedure which adopts the generalized pattern search algorithm in the genetic algorithm and direct search toolbox of Matlab is adopted to solve these problems. As applying example, the results of four cases PCDW to the robot are presented. And the design result is compared with a concept of the distance between the best state of the robot and the requirement of the operation task. The method and result of this paper are very useful for the design and comparison of the Y‐Star robot.