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SUMMARY:A Cheater’s Guide to Linkage Design - Andrew Viquerat - Dept of 
 Engineering
DTSTART:20120302T150000Z
DTEND:20120302T160000Z
UID:TALK36423@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Lorna Everett
DESCRIPTION:For about 20 years\, a handful of mathematicians and engineers
  have been developing a powerful method of solving systems of coupled\, no
 nlinear equations called numerical continuation. In particular\, this meth
 od lends itself to the solution of polynomial equations\, where it comes u
 nder the heading of polynomial continuation. Coupled systems of polynomial
  equations often have more than one\, and in some cases can have tens of t
 housands of perfectly valid solutions. It is now possible to find computat
 ionally every one of those solutions\, and to be confident that no others 
 exist. From a design point of view\, this means that every feasible option
  for a problem posed in polynomial form can be determined at once.\nA broa
 d variety of engineering design problems or models can be posed in polynom
 ial form\, but continuation finds a natural home in the field of kinematic
 s and mechanism/linkage analysis (a topic of study at Cambridge since the 
 1870’s). Some of the most interesting results of polynomial continuation
  arise when applied to overconstrained mechanisms\; those which are mobile
  only because of some quirk of geometry. \nThis talk takes its name from a
  feature of polynomial continuation known as a cheater’s homotopy\, in w
 hich all the solutions of a system of equations are found quickly and easi
 ly using only a little knowledge about the equations’ structure. As the 
 name suggests\, using continuation to design linkages might be almost too 
 simple!\n
LOCATION:Engineering Department - **LR6**
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