Comparative Study of TriVariant and Delta Three-Degree-of-Freedom Parallel Mechanisms for Aerial Manipulation
Zhujin Jiang, Yihao Lin, Yueyuan Zhang, Mingxiang Ling, Chao Liu · Machines · 2025
The operational performance of robotic arms for multi-rotor flying robots (MFRs) has attracted growing attention in recent years. To explore new possibilities for aerial manipulation, this study investigates a novel parallel mechanism, the TriVariant, comprising one UP limb and two identical UPS limbs (2-UPS&UP). To evaluate its potential, we analyze its dimensional and kinematic characteristics and benchmark them against the widely adopted Delta robot, which is commonly integrated with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). A prototype of the TriVariant is fabricated for experimental validation. Both analytical and experimental results reveal that, within a cylindrical task workspace characterized by a large diameter and moderate height, the TriVariant offers a more compact structure than the Delta robot, despite its slightly reduced dexterity. These findings highlight that the TriVariant is especially suitable for aerial manipulation in space-constrained environments where all limbs must be mounted beneath the UAV.