Kinematics of a three degree-of-freedom motion platform for a low-cost driving simulator

The objective of the project described in this paper is to provide a motion base for a low-cost driving simulator which is a research topic in the development of an automated vehicle/highway system. The motion platform is driven by a parallel mechanism with three degrees of freedom. The kinematics for the position problem of this type of mechanism was quite well developed. The velocity problem, on which there is a focus in the paper, is less stressed by other researchers. A closed form of Jacobian which could be computed efficiently by feedback data from sensors is presented. Static force analysis is carried out before the velocity problem is solved. From the result, the singular positions of the structure, which constrain the range of motions, are located and described in the paper. The design of a table-top model, which was built to assist the development of control software, is also briefly described in the paper.