The configuration space of planar spidery linkages (Q864470)

The author studies the configuration space of a planar spider-like robotic machine. The mechanism has its body \(C\) and \(n\) legs attached to it, each has length \(1+1\) with a revolving joint \(J_k\) (``the knee'') in the middle. The endpoints \(B_k\) of the legs are fixed at vertices of the regular \(n\)-gon inscribed into the circle of radius \(R\): \[ B_k=\biggl( R\cos\frac{2\pi k}{n}, R\sin\frac{2\pi k}{n}\biggr), \quad k=1, \dots, n. \] Formally the configuration space is defined as \[ {\mathcal M}_n(R) = \{(C, J_1, \dots, J_n)\in ({\mathbb R}^2)^{n+1};\;| J_kC| =| B_kJ_k| =1, \;k=1, \dots, n\}. \] Let \(R_n=2/d_n\) where \(d_n\) denotes the maximum distance between the \(n\)th roots of unity, i.e. \(d_n=2\) if \(n\) is even and \[ d_n= \sqrt{2-2\cos\frac{(n-1)\pi}{n}} \] if \(n\) is odd. One of the main results of the paper states that for \(R\not=R_n\) the configuration space \({\mathcal M}_n(R)\) is a compact orientable surface \(\Sigma_g\) whose genus \(g\) is given by \[ g= \begin{cases} 1+(5n-4)2^{n-3}, & \text{if } 0<R<R_n,\\ 1+(n-4)2^{n-3}, &\text{if } R_n<R<2. \end{cases} \] Another main result of the paper describes fully the topological type of the configuration space \({\mathcal M}_n(R)\) in the special case \(R=R_n\).