SINGULARITIES

Special configurations referred to as 'kinematic singularities' have always been central in mechanism theory and robotics. Besides being an intellectually appealing topic the study of kinematic singularities provides an insight of major practical and theoretical importance for the design, control, and application of robot manipulators. In such singularities, the kinetostatic properties of a mechanism undergo sudden and dramatic changes. This motivated the enormous practical value of a careful study and thorough understanding of the phenomenon for the design and use of manipulators.asdf... The key role played by kinematic singularities in mechanism theory is analogous to, and in fact a consequence of, the critical importance of singularities in algebraic geometry and in the theory of differentiable mappings... Summer School on Singularities of Mechanisms and Robotic Manipulators