Development and experimentation of a fast 3-DOF camera-orienting device

In this article, the mechanical design and the practical implementation of a high-performance, three-degree-of-freedom, camera-orienting device is addressed. The agile eye, as it is referred to, is based on a spherical 3-DOF parallel mechanism, which leads to high-performance dynamics. The kinematics of such a mechanism is briefly recalled, and its mechanical properties are described. Then, experimental results obtained with the prototype are presented and commented upon. Because of its low-moving inertia and its inherent stiffness, the mechanism is capable of velocities larger than 1,000 degrees/s and of accelerations larger than 20,000 degrees/s(2).