Dynamic Modeling and Simulation of a 6-DOF Aerial Hybrid Cable-Driven Parallel Manipulator

Aerial manipulators integrated with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer remote, flexible, low-cost, safe, and redeployable solutions for sensor placement and condition monitoring of infrastructure such as floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs). However, under the limited payload capacity of UAVs, it is difficult to simultaneously optimize weight, center of gravity, workspace, and structural stiffness due to inherent trade-offs among them. This paper presents the dynamic modeling and simulation validation of a 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) hybrid cable-driven parallel manipulator (HCDPM), in which the end-effector (EE) is connected to the base through both driving cables and a central elastic rod. The proposed HCDPM enables the EE to accommodate relative motion between the UAV and the target structure while maintaining stability of the UAV's center of gravity. Compared to traditional series and pure cable-driven parallel manipulators (CDPMs), the proposed system offers a significantly greater and more adaptable workspace, along with enhanced stiffness in the horizontal direction, which contributes to improved dynamic performance. Simulation results validate the accuracy of the dynamic model and demonstrate that the proposed HCDPM effectively fulfills the design objectives.