A New Mechanism for Passive Dynamic Object Manipulation along a Curved Path

Object manipulation is a basic task in robotics and automation. Active manipulation by grasp is conventional approach in object manipulation. However, in many cases, grasp-less manipulation can be beneficial in terms of cost, minimalism and extension of workspace. On the other hand passive mechanisms are advantageous from the energy saving viewpoint. In this paper we combine these ideas to develop a dynamic passive object manipulation mechanism to achieve manipulation in more than one dimension and simultaneously change position and orientation of the object. In developed mechanism the manipulation platform is a simple inclined surface. The object is composed of two wheels with different radiuses and an axle connecting the wheels to each other. The object moves passively along a circular path on the platform. Kinematic equations of the motion are devised, dynamic analyses are performed and no-slippage conditions are extracted. Modelling in CATIA and simulations in MSC.ADAMS are performed and experimental set up is built to verify the analysis.