A Multicriteria Approach for the Optimal Design of 2 Dof Parallel Robots Used in Construction Applications

Parallel robots have been used in a large number of applications ranging from astronomy to flight simulators and are becoming increasingly popular in the field of construction industry. This paper is aimed at presenting a study on the optimization of the BIGLIDE and BIPOD parallel robots, which comprises two-degree-of-freedom (DOF) parallel robots with constant and variable struts. The robot workspace is characterized and the inverse kinematics equation is obtained. In the paper, design optimization is implemented with Genetic Algorithms (GA) for optimization considering transmission quality index, design space and workspace. Here, intended to show the advantages of using the GA, we applied it to a multicriteria optimization problem of 2 DOF parallel robots. Genetic algorithms (GA) are so far generally the best and most robust kind of evolutionary algorithms. A GA has a number of advantages. It can quickly scan a vast solution set. Bad proposals do not affect the end solution negatively as they are simply discarded. The obtained results have shown that the use of GA in such kind of optimization problem enhances the quality of the optimization outcome, providing a better and more realistic support for the decision maker. Considering its high load capacity and geometrical dexterity, the system is appropriate for maintenance, building construction, and cleaning of large and dangerous structures.