Influence map: Determining the actuators’ influence in kinematic chains for mechanism design

Abstract

This paper introduces the concepts of influence matrix and influence map for actuated kinematic chains. The influence matrix and influence map are defined to provide the designer with methods to identify and map actuators dependency. After the definitions are presented, the algorithms to calculate these structural characteristics are proposed together with an algorithm to calculate the actuated degree-of-control. Then, two case studies are presented, showing how the influence matrix and influence map can be used to select reference and output links.