This thesis presents a unified framework for the analysis of instantaneous kinematics and statics of spatial manipulators. The proposed formulation covers the entire range of kinematic behavior, with kinematic singularity ...

In concentrated solar power (CSP) stations, large arrays of mirrors which are capable of changing its orientation are used to reflect the incident solar energy to a stationary receiver kept at a distance. Such mirrors are ...

Endoscopy is a procedure by which a long flexible device called the `endoscope' is inserted into a patient's gastro-intestinal(GI) tract primarily for diagnosis. An endoscope is typically equipped with a camera, ...

Rotating components such as reaction wheels and momentum wheels on spacecraft generate micro-vibrations up to 250 Hz during on-orbit operations. While the use of Gough-Stewart Platforms (GSPs) for six degrees of freedom ...

Foldable and deployable space structures refer to a broad category of pre-fabricated structures that can be transformed from a compact folded configuration to a predetermined expanded configuration. Such deployable structures ...

This thesis deals with motion planning of flexible one-dimensional objects and hyper-redundant serial robots moving in a plane or in three dimensional space. The flexible one-dimensional object is modeled as a continuous ...

Electric and hybrid vehicles are particularly suited for use in urban areas since city transportation is mainly characterized by relatively short driving distances, low continuous power requirements, long idling times and ...

A spacecraft encounters two regimes of vibrations: launch loads and on-orbit loads. Both these loads propagate through the spacecraft structure, which is primarily made up of honeycomb sandwich. The launch loads that are ...