Kinematic analysis of scissor-like elements using dual quaternions

Abstract This paper presents a standard approach, based on dual quaternions (DQ), to deal with the kinematic analysis of scissor-like elements (SLE). Kinematic relations of homogeneous SLE are simplified by using DQ exponentiation. The steps to identify kinematic singularities are detailed by an algorithm. A second algorithm is introduced to deal with the computation and plotting of reachable and dexterous workspace. In this approach, not just points and vectors, but lines and planes are represented by DQ. The motion of points, lines and planes can be appreciated in practical examples based on domotics.