Abstract: A new walking robot is presented based on 3-RPC parallel mechanism which can perform three-dimensional translations and move in any direction without adjusting its own posture. The walking robot can improve payload-weight ratio and walking efficiency by using parallel mechanisms with simple structure and high carrying capacity. The principles that the robot can perform the above motions are analyzed by using screw theory, then the inverse position kinematics is calculated and the workspace is discussed. The kinematics simulation using 3+3 gait bears out that the robot can walks smoothly and continuously, and it indicates that the design is correct and reasonable and has feasibility. Furthermore, by designing on parallel mechanism, compared with the traditional walking robot, the solution to the inverse kinematics problem of the walking robot can be derived easily; this is beneficial to the design and motion planning of the walking robot. The bringing forward of this walking robot broadens the application fields of parallel mechanisms.

Key words: 3-RPC, Parallel mechanism, Screw theory, Walking robot