Task-Based, Computer-Aided Kinematic Design of Spherically Constrained Kinematic Chains

This dissertation presents a novel task-based approach towards computer-aided kinematic design of spherically constrained kinematic chains. Based on a detailed review of the state-of-the-art in theoretical kinematics, linkage design theory as well as computer-aided kinematic design new kinematic synthesis and analysis methods as well as a general CAD-integrated kinematic design process were developed. An example of a spatial kinematic motion task is used to demonstrate theory and methods.