Systematization of morphing in reconfigurable mechanisms

This paper addresses metamorphic and reconfigurable mechanisms based on types of morphing and ways of achieving it through a comprehensive review and a classification of mechanisms in the literature while considering various types of morphing. The morphing process in terms of its topological and geometrical properties is systematically classified. It is found that there are certain ways of achieving reconfigurability through morphing. These include change of relative positions and orientations of links and joints, change of topology and geometry of kinematic chains, change of furcating branches of a mechanism and switch of idle and active joints, subsequently resulting in change of connectivity and mobility. All these ways of morphing are categorized in this paper as topological morphing, geometrical morphing and furcating morphing. The paper hence reveals intrinsic characteristics of the morphing process and presents the relationship between morphing and mechanism and motion types, presenting a rich reference for the study of reconfigurable mechanisms. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.