Design and Programming for Cable-Driven Parallel Robots in the German Pavilion at the EXPO 2015

• Main Authors: Philipp Tempel, Fabian Schnelle, Andreas Pott, Peter Eberhard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015-08-01
• Series: Machines
• Subjects: cable-driven parallel robots; path planning; EXPO 2015
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/3/3/223

In the German Pavilion at the EXPO 2015, two large cable-driven parallel robots are flying over the heads of the visitors representing two bees flying over Germany and displaying everyday life in Germany. Each robot consists of a mobile platform and eight cables suspended by winches and follows a desired trajectory, which needs to be computed in advance taking technical limitations, safety considerations and visual aspects into account. In this paper, a path planning software is presented, which includes the design process from developing a robot design and workspace estimation via planning complex trajectories considering technical limitations through to exporting a complete show. For a test trajectory, simulation results are given, which display the relevant trajectories and cable force distributions.