Real-Time Validation of Stewart Platform U-Joint Kinematics through a Digital Shadow

Juliana Danesi Ruiz; Skylar Halley; Casey Harwood; Rachel V. Vitali

doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2026.3682958

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Real-Time Validation of Stewart Platform U-Joint Kinematics through a Digital Shadow

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Real-Time Validation of Stewart Platform U-Joint Kinematics through a Digital Shadow

Juliana Danesi Ruiz, Skylar Halley, Casey Harwood and Rachel V. Vitali

IEEE access, Vol.14, pp.59050-59063

04/09/2026

DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2026.3682958

Appears in UI Libraries Support Open Access

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https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2026.3682958View

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Abstract

Universal joints (U-joints) in Stewart platforms are subject to kinematic limits and collision risks that are often not captured by platform-level models or simulation-based analyses. These limitations become particularly relevant during dynamic operation, where unmodeled joint behavior can compromise system safety and reliability. This paper presents a joint-level Digital Shadow framework for real-time validation of U-joint kinematics in a 6-UPU Stewart platform. The approach uses low-cost inertial measurement units and a custom interface to estimate joint angles and evaluate them against a precomputed collision and limit lookup table. The proposed Digital Shadow continuously monitors measured joint behavior during operation. The framework is experimentally validated using both static and dynamic tests on a physical platform, demonstrating its ability to identify unsafe joint configurations and kinematic limit violations in real time. The results highlight the effectiveness of the Digital Shadow as a practical, low-cost tool for operational joint validation and collision avoidance in parallel robotic systems.

Circuits and Systems

Radio Astronomy

Activity recognition

Antennas and propagation

collision detection

digital twin

Feedback

Filtering

Filters

Human activity recognition

inertial sensors

Kalman filters

parallel robots

Payloads

robot kinematics

robotic sensing systems

UIOWA OA Agreement

Details

Title: Subtitle: Real-Time Validation of Stewart Platform U-Joint Kinematics through a Digital Shadow
Creators: Juliana Danesi Ruiz - University of Iowa
Skylar Halley - University of Iowa
Casey Harwood - University of Iowa
Rachel V. Vitali - University of Iowa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: IEEE access, Vol.14, pp.59050-59063
DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2026.3682958
ISSN: 2169-3536
eISSN: 2169-3536
Publisher: IEEE
Number of pages: 1
Grant note: N00014-22-1-2097 / Office of Naval Research (10.13039/100000006)
Language: English
Date published: 04/09/2026
Academic Unit: Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9985153396002771

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