Special Section: Design, Analysis and Actuation of Reconfigurable Parallel Mechanisms

Abstract

This Special Section with 11 papers aims to share research efforts in design, theory, development, and applications for Reconfigurable Parallel Mechanisms (RPMs) building on work first presented at the Fourth International Conference on Fundamental Issues, Applications and Future Research Directions for Parallel Mechanisms/Manipulators/Machines (World Parallel 2020).This premier conference is held every 6 years—the fourth edition was hosted on September 9–11, 2020, in Belfast UK led by Professor Yan Jin from Queen’s University Belfast and Professor Jian S. Dai from King’s College London. It builds upon the first edition in Québec City in 2002, organized by Prof. Clément Gosselin, from Laval University and Prof. Imme Ebert-Uphoff from Georgia Tech; the second edition was held in Montpellier in 2008 by Profs. François Pierrot, Nicolas Andreff, Olivier Company, Marc Gouttefarde, and Sébastien Krut, and the third edition was held in Tianjin in 2014 by Prof. Tian Huang from Tianjin University and Prof. Jian S. Dai from King’s College London.