Preface
Origins of cable-driven parallel robots lie in the late 1980s when first concepts of
cranes, parallel kinematic manipulators, and cable-driven robotic devices were
combined in the United States and in Japan.
Researchers all over the world started to work on these special robotic systems,
most of them having a strong background in parallel kinematics: in contrast to
conventional parallel and serial manipulators, cable-driven parallel robots promise
a couple of unique advantages over other kinematic concepts. Cable robots allow
for significant improvements in the size of the workspace, the maximum payload,
and the dynamic capacities due to their superior efficiency in transmitting forces
through cables. The research on cable robots led to a number of challenging
scientific questions in the field of kinematics, statics, dynamics, control, and
design. Due to the lack of a dedicated forum on cable robots, active researchers
published their results, widely dispersed, in a broad range of robotic conferences
and journals. Meanwhile, the number of contributions in this field was rapidly
growing.
Recently, projects have started transferring the cable robot technology into
practical application, e.g., in the fields of industrial large-scale material handling,
intralogistics, and physiotherapy.
For the very first time, leading experts from three continents gather during the
First International Conference on Cable-Driven Parallel Robots in Stuttgart,
Germany. The conference allows the cable robot community to exchange ideas
and to create new connections between active researchers around the world. The
conference was organized under the patronage of International Federation for the
Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM).
Within this book, some of the most renowned experts present the state of the
art, including both summarizing contributions as well as latest research results in
key areas such as workspace, design, and control. The papers in this book cover
classical topics such as motion planning, kinematics, dynamics, control, as well as
design and their implications on cable robots. At the same time, practical issues
such as components for cable robots, calibration, and prototyping are presented,
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