Neural Network Solutions for Forward Kinematics Problem of HEXA Parallel Robot

Forward kinematics problem of parallel robots is a very difficult problem to solve in comparison to the serial manipulators due to their highly nonlinear relations between joint variables and position and orientation of the end effector. This problem is almost impossible to be solved analytically. Numerical methods are the most common approaches to solve this problem. Nevertheless, the possible lack of convergence of these methods is the main drawback. In this chapter, two types of neural networks – multilayer perceptron (MLP) and wavelet based neural network (wave-net) are used to solve the forward kinematics problem of the HEXA parallel manipulator. This problem is solved in a typical workspace of this robot. Simulation results show the advantages of employing neural networks, and in particular wavelet based neural networks, to solve this problem.