Geometry of Integrable Linkages

Abstract

In analogy with the well-known 2-linkage tractor-trailer problem, we define a 2-linkage problem in the plane with novel non-holonomic ``no-slip'' conditions. Using constructs from sub-Riemannian geometry, we look for geodesics corresponding to linkage motion with these constraints (``tricycle kinematics''). The paths of the three vertices turn out to be critical points for functionals which appear in the hierarchy of conserved quantities for the planar filament equation, a well known completely integrable evolution equation for planar curves. We show that the geodesic equations are completely integrable, and present a second connection to the planar filament equation.