Comparison of four different heuristic optimization algorithms for the inverse kinematics solution of a real 4-DOF serial robot manipulator

In this study, a 4-degree-of-freedom (DOF) serial robot manipulator was designed and developed for the pick-and-place operation of a flexible manufacturing system. The solution of the inverse kinematics equation, one of the most important parts of the control process of the manipulator, was obtained by using four different optimization algorithms: the genetic algorithm (GA), the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, the quantum particle swarm optimization (QPSO) algorithm and the gravitational search algorithm (GSA). These algorithms were tested with two different scenarios for the motion of the manipulator’s end-effector. One hundred randomly selected workspace points were defined for the first scenario, while a spline trajectory, also composed of one hundred workspace points, was used for the second. The optimization algorithms were used for solving of the inverse kinematics of the manipulator in order to successfully move the end-effector to these workspace points. The four algorithms were compared according to the execution time, the end-effector position error and the required number of generations. The results showed that the QPSO could be effectively used for the inverse kinematics solution of the developed manipulator.     

New Architecture of a Hybrid Two-Fingered Micro–Nano Manipulator Hand: Optimization and Design

This paper presents the synthesis and design optimization of a compact and yet economical hybrid two-fingered micro–nano manipulator hand. The proposed manipulator hand consists of two series modules, i.e., an upper and lower modules. Each of them consists of a parallel kinematics chain with a glass pipette (1 mm diameter and 3–10 cm length) tapered to a very sharp end as an end-effector. It is driven by three piezo-electric actuated prismatic joints in each of the three legs of the parallel kinematics chain. Each leg of the kinematics chain has the prismatic–revolute–spherical joint structure. As the length of the glass pipette end-effector is decreased, the resolution and accuracy of the micro–nano manipulator hand is increased. For long lengths of the glass pipette end-effector, this manipulator works as a micro manipulator and for short lengths it works as a nano manipulator. A novel closed-form solution for the problem of inverse kinematics is obtained. Based on this solution, a simulation program has been developed to optimally choose the design parameters of each module so that the manipulator will have a maximum workspace volume. A computer-aided design model based on optimal parameters is built and investigated to check its workspace volume. Experimental work has been carried out for the purpose of calibration. Also, the system hardware setup of the hybrid two-fingered micro–nano manipulator hand and its practical Jacobian inverse matrices are presented.     

Singularity robust path planning for real time base attitude adjustment of free-floating space robot

This paper presents a singularity robust path planning for space manipulator to achieve base (satellite) attitude adjustment and end-effector task. The base attitude adjustment by the movement of manipulator will save propellant compared with conventional attitude control system. A task-priority reaction null-space control method is applied to achieve the primary task of adjusting attitude and secondary task of accomplishing end-effector task. Furthermore, the algorithm singularity is eliminated in the proposed algorithm compared with conventional reaction null-space algorithm. And the singular value filtering decomposition is introduced to dispose the dynamic singularity, the unit quaternion is also introduced to overcome representation singularity. Hence, a singularity robust path planning algorithm of space robot for base attitude adjustment is derived. A real time simulation system of the space robot under Linux/RTAI (realtime application interface) is developed to verify and test the feasibility and reliability of the method. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of online base attitude adjustment of space robot by the proposed algorithm.     

Inverse Kinematics of Binary Manipulators Using a Continuum Model

Binary actuators have only two discrete states, both of which are stable without feedback. As a result, manipulators with binary actuators have a finite number of states. The major benefits of binary actuation are that extensive feedback control is not required, reliability and task repeatability are very high, and two-state actuators are generally very inexpensive, resulting in low cost robotic mechanisms. These manipulators have great potential for use in both the manufacturing and service sectors, where the cost of high performance robotic manipulators is often difficult to justify. The most difficult challenge with a binary manipulator is to achieve relatively continuous end-effector trajectories given the discrete nature of binary actuation. Since the number of configurations attainable by binary manipulators grows exponentially in the number of actuated degrees of freedom, calculation of inverse kinematics by direct enumeration of joint states and calculation of forward kinematics is not feasible in the highly actuated case. This paper presents an efficient method for performing binary manipulator inverse kinematics and trajectory planning based on having the binary manipulator shape adhere closely to a time-varying curve. In this way the configuration of the arm does not exhibit drastic changes as the end effector follows a discrete trajectory.     

Inverse dynamics of redundant manipulators using a minimum number of control forces

The number of the control actuators used by the inverse kinematics and dynamics algorithms that have been developed in the literature for generating redundant robot joint trajectories is equal to the number of the degrees of freedom of the manipulator. In this article, an inverse dynamics algorithm that performs the tasks using only a minimum number of actuators is proposed. The number of actuators is equal to the dimension of the task space, and the control forces are solved simultaneously with the corresponding system motion. It is shown that because all degrees of freedom are not actuated, the control forces may lose the ability to make an instantaneous effect on the end-effector acceleration at certain configurations, yielding the dynamical equation set of the system to be singular. The dynamical equations are modified in the neighborhood of the singular configurations by utilizing higher-order derivative information, so that the singularities in the numerical procedure are avoided. Asymptotically stable inverse dynamics closed-loop control in the presence of perturbations is also discussed. The algorithm is further generalized to closed chain manipulators. Three-link and two-link redundant planar manipulators are analyzed to illustrate the validity of the approach. © 2995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An analysis of the inverse kinematics for a 5-DOF manipulator

This paper proposes an analytical solution for a 5-DOF manipulator to follow a given trajectory while keeping the orientation of one axis in the end-effector frame. The forward kinematics and inverse kinematics for a 5-DOF manipulator are analyzed systemically. The singular problem is discussed after the forward kinematics is provided. For any given reachable position and orientation of the end-effector, the derived inverse kinematics will provide an accurate solution. In other words, there exists no singular problem for the 5-DOF manipulator, which has wide application areas such as welding, spraying, and painting. Experiment results verify the effectiveness of the methods developed in this paper.     

Canonical parameterization of excess motor degrees of freedom withself-organizing maps

The problem of sensorimotor control is underdetermined due to excess (or "redundant") degrees of freedom when there are more joint variables than the minimum needed for positioning an end-effector. A method is presented for solving the nonlinear inverse kinematics problem for a redundant manipulator by learning a natural parameterization of the inverse solution manifolds with self-organizing maps. The parameterization approximates the topological structure of the joint space, which is that of a fiber bundle. The fibers represent the "self-motion manifolds" along which the manipulator can change configuration while keeping the end-effector at a fixed location. The method is demonstrated for the case of the redundant planar manipulator. Data samples along the self-motion manifolds are selected from a large set of measured input-output data. This is done by taking points in the joint space corresponding to end-effector locations near "query points", which define small neighborhoods in the end-effector work space. Self-organizing maps are used to construct an approximate parameterization of each manifold which is consistent for all of the query points. The resulting parameterization is used to augment the overall kinematics map so that it is locally invertible. Joint-angle and end-effector position data, along with the learned parameterizations, are used to train neural networks to approximate direct inverse functions.     

空间机械臂本体与末端抓手协调运动的自适应控制方法

讨论了载体位置不受控制的漂浮基空间机械臂本体与末端抓手协调运动的自适应控制问题. 对系统的运动学、动力学分析表明, 结合系统动量守恒关系得到的系统动力学方程及协调运动的增广广义Jacobi矩阵可以表示为适当选择的组合惯性参数的线性函数. 以此为基础, 对于系统存在未知参数的情况, 设计了本体姿态与机械臂末端抓手惯性空间轨迹协调运动的自适应控制方案. 上述控制方案的显著优点在于: 不需要测量、反馈飞行器本体的位置、移动速度及移动加速度. 仿真运算, 证实了上述控制方案的有效性.     

基于机器视觉与单片机结合的机械臂抓取系统

抓取规划和控制是机械臂抓取系统中的难点.为了有效的解决这两个问题,本文提出一种基于机器视觉和单片机相结合的机械臂抓取系统.首先利用前期视觉测量成果对目标定位,然后设计了一种软件接口将目标表面三维信息进行可视化,并通过人为经验手动选择一个良好的抓取点;再结合逆运动学求解和轨迹规划算法,利用单片机驱动舵机使机械臂末端执行器...     

Visual motor control of a 7 DOF robot manipulator using a fuzzy SOM network

A fuzzy self-organizing map (SOM) network is proposed in this paper for visual motor control of a 7 degrees of freedom (DOF) robot manipulator. The inverse kinematic map from the image plane to joint angle space of a redundant manipulator is highly nonlinear and ill-posed in the sense that a typical end-effector position is associated with several joint angle vectors. In the proposed approach, the robot workspace in image plane is discretized into a number of fuzzy regions whose center locations and fuzzy membership values are determined using a Fuzzy C-Mean (FCM) clustering algorithm. SOM network then learns the inverse kinematics by on-line by associating a local linear map for each cluster. A novel learning algorithm has been proposed to make the robot manipulator to reach a target position. Any arbitrary level of accuracy can be achieved with a number of fine movements of the manipulator tip. These fine movements depend on the error between the target position and the current manipulator position. In particular, the fuzzy model is found to be better as compared to Kohonen self-organizing map (KSOM) based learning scheme proposed for visual motor control. Like existing KSOM learning schemes, the proposed scheme leads to a unique inverse kinematic solution even for a redundant manipulator. The proposed algorithms have been successfully implemented in real-time on a 7 DOF PowerCube robot manipulator, and results are found to concur with the theoretical findings.     

Dynamics and control of space free-flyers with multiple manipulators

This paper studies the motion control of a multiple manipulator free-flying space robot chasing a passive object in near proximity. Free-flyer kinematics are developed using a minimum set of body-fixed barycentric vectors. Using a general and a quasi-coordinate Lagrangian formulation, equations of motion for model-based controllers are derived. Two model-based and one transposed Jacobian control algorithms are developed that allow coordinated tracking control of the manipulators and the spacecraft. In particular, an Euler parameter model-based control algorithm is presented that overcomes the non-physical singularities due to Euler angle representation of attitude. To ensure smooth operation, and reduce disturbances on the spacecraft and on the object just before grasping, appropriate trajectories for the motion of spacecraft/manipulators are planned. The performance of model-based algorithms is compared, by simulation, to that of a transposed Jacobian algorithm. Results show that due to the complexity of space robotic systems, a drastic deterioration in the performance of model-based algorithms in the presence of model uncertainties results. In such cases, a simple transposed Jacobian algorithm yields comparable results with much reduced computational burden, an issue which is very important in space.     

Extended Jacobian inverse kinematics algorithms for mobile manipulators

We consider the inverse kinematic problem for mobile manipulators consisting of a nonholonomic mobile platform and a holonomic manipulator on board the platform. The kinematics of a mobile manipulator are represented by a driftless control system with outputs together with the associated variational control system. The output reachability map of the driftless control system determines the instantaneous kinematics, while the output reachability map of the variational system plays the role of the analytic Jacobian of the mobile manipulator. Relying on a formal analogy between the kinematics of stationary and mobile manipulators we exploit the extended Jacobian construction in order to design a collection of extended Jacobian inverse kinematics algorithms for mobile manipulators. It has been proved mathematically and confirmed in computer simulations that these algorithms are capable of efficiently solving the inverse kinematic problem. Moreover, a choice of the Jacobian extension may lay down some guidelines for the platform‐manipulator motion coordination. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

基于ANFIS的机械手运动学逆解的求取

提出一种基于自适应神经模糊推理系统（ANFIS）求取机械手运动学逆解的方法。本文以SCARA（Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm）型四自由度机械手为研究对象,研究SCARA机械手末端执行器笛卡儿空间坐标与机械手关节空间关节变量之间的对应关系。首先根据笛卡儿运动轨迹选取起点、终点和中间点,并求得与之对应的关节变量值序列。然后利用插值方法求得关节空间的角度变化曲线,最后在关节曲线上随机选取样本点,进而利用得到的数据训练并验证自适应神经模糊推理系统求解逆解的正确性和精确性。与传统基于BP神经网络求取运动学逆解的方法进行仿真对比分析,结果表明ANFIS在运动学逆解的求取精度和运算时间上均优于BP神经网络。     

Inverse kinematics of planar redundant manipulators via virtual links with configuration index

This article presents a new method for generating inverse kinematic solutions for planar manipulators with large redundancy (hyper-redundant manipulators). The proposed method starts by decomposing a planar redundant manipulator into a series of local planar arms that are either 2-link or 3-link manipulator modules, and connecting the conjunction points between them with virtual links. The manipulator then can be handled by a simple virtual link system, which may be conveniently divided into non-singular and singular cases depending on its configuration. When the virtual link system is no longer effective due to a singular configuration, the displacement of the end-effector is then allocated to virtual links according to a displacement distribution criterion. A dexterity index called the “configuration index” distinguishes the non-singular and singular cases. The concept of virtual link is shown by computer simulations to be simple and effective for the inverse kinematics of a planar hyper-redundant manipulator with a discrete model. In particular, it can be applied to solving the inverse kinematics of a SCARA-type spatial redundant manipulator whose redundancy is included in its planar mechanism. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Study on Non-holonomic Cartesian Path Planning of a Free-Floating Space Robotic System

The non-holonomic characteristic of a free-floating space robotic system is used to plan the path of the manipulator joints, by whose motion the base attitude and the inertial pose (the position and orientation with respect to the inertial frame) of the end-effector attain the desired values. First, the kinematic equations of a free-floating space robot are simplified and the system state variables are transformed to another form composed of base attitude and joint angles. Then, the joint trajectories are parameterized using sinusoidal functions, whose arguments are seven-order polynomials. Third, the planning problem is transformed to an optimization problem; the cost function, defined according to the accuracy requirements of system variables, is the function of the parameters to be determined. Finally, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to search the solutions of the parameters that determine the joint trajectories. The presented method meets three typical applications: (i) point-to-point maneuver of the end-effector without changing the base attitude, (ii) attitude maneuver of the base without changing the end-effector's pose and (iii) point-to-point maneuver of the end-effector with adjusting the base attitude synchronously. The simulation results of a spacecraft with a 6-d.o.f. manipulator verify the performance and the validity of the proposed method.     

Approximation of Jacobian Inverse Kinematics Algorithms: Differential Geometric vs. Variational Approach

This paper addresses the approximation problem of Jacobian inverse kinematics algorithms for redundant robotic manipulators. Specifically, we focus on the approximation of the Jacobian pseudo inverse by the extended Jacobian algorithm. The algorithms are defined as certain dynamic systems driven by the task space error, and identified with vector field distributions. The distribution corresponding to the Jacobian pseudo inverse is non-integrable, while that associated with the extended Jacobian is integrable. Two methods of devising the approximating extended Jacobian algorithm are examined. The first method is referred to as differential geometric, and relies on the approximation of a non-integrable distribution (in fact: a codistribution) by an integrable one. As an alternative, the approximation problem has been formulated as the minimization of an approximation error functional, and solved using the methods of the calculus of variations. Performance of the obtained extended Jacobian inverse kinematics algorithms has been compared by means of computer simulations involving the kinematics model of the 7 dof industrial manipulator POLYCRANK. It is concluded that the differential geometric method offers a rapid, while the variational method a systematic tool for solving inverse kinematic problems.     

Optimal path planning of redundant free-floating revolute-jointed space manipulators with seven links

The path planning of free-floating manipulators is of great interest in space operations. The manipulators in the free-floating mode exhibit nonholonomic characteristics due to the nonintegrability of the angular momentum, which makes the problem complicated. This paper analyzes the path planning of redundant, free-floating space manipulators with revolute joints and 7 degrees of freedom. The primary task of manipulators is to move the manipulator arms so that the desired end-effector position and orientation can be achieved. The motion of the manipulators can produce an attitude disturbance of the base, which has an adverse impact on the spacecraft operation. Thus, it is necessary to minimize the base attitude disturbance in order to reduce the fuel consumption for attitude maintenance. Practically, the path planning of redundant free-floating manipulators with higher degrees of freedom (7 degrees of freedom in this paper) in three-dimensional space is more complicated than path planning with fewer degrees of freedom, including planar or fixed base cases. This paper provides a tractable planning method to solve this problem, which could avoid the pseudo inverse of the Jacobian matrix. The sine functions, whose arguments are the polynomial functions with unknown coefficients, are used to specify the joint paths. The PSODE algorithm (particle swarm optimization combined with differential evolution) is applied to optimize the unknown coefficients of the polynomials in order to achieve the desired end-effector position and orientation and simultaneously minimize the base attitude disturbance. The simulations demonstrate that this method could provide satisfactory smooth paths for redundant free-floating space manipulators.     

Analytical Inverse Kinematics Solver for Anthropomorphic 7-DOF Redundant Manipulators with Human-Like Configuration Constraints

It is a common belief that service robots shall move in a human-like manner to enable natural and convenient interaction with a human user or collaborator. In particular, this applies to anthropomorphic 7-DOF redundant robot manipulators that have a shoulder-elbow-wrist configuration. On the kinematic level, human-like movement then can be realized by means of selecting a redundancy resolution for the inverse kinematics (IK), which realizes human-like movement through respective nullspace preferences. In this paper, key positions are introduced and defined as Cartesian positions of the manipulator’s elbow and wrist joints. The key positions are used as constraints on the inverse kinematics in addition to orientation constraints at the end-effector, such that the inverse kinematics can be calculated through an efficient analytical scheme and realizes human-like configurations. To obtain suitable key positions, a correspondence method named wrist-elbow-in-line is derived to map key positions of human demonstrations to the real robot for obtaining a valid analytical inverse kinematics solution. A human demonstration tracking experiment is conducted to evaluate the end-effector accuracy and human-likeness of the generated motion for a 7-DOF Kuka-LWR arm. The results are compared to a similar correspondance method that emphasizes only the wrist postion and show that the subtle differences between the two different correspondence methods may lead to significant performance differences. Furthermore, the wrist-elbow-in-line method is validated as more stable in practical application and extended for obstacle avoidance.     

Cartesian path generation of robot manipulators using continuous genetic algorithms

In this paper, the authors describe a novel technique based on continuous genetic algorithms (CGAs) to solve the path generation problem for robot manipulators. We consider the following scenario: given the desired Cartesian path of the end-effector of the manipulator in a free-of-obstacles workspace, off-line smooth geometric paths in the joint space of the manipulator are obtained. The inverse kinematics problem is formulated as an optimization problem based on the concept of the minimization of the accumulative path deviation and is then solved using CGAs where smooth curves are used for representing the required geometric paths in the joint space through out the evolution process. In general, CGA uses smooth operators and avoids sharp jumps in the parameter values. This novel approach possesses several distinct advantages: first, it can be applied to any general serial manipulator with positional degrees of freedom that might not have any derived closed-form solution for its inverse kinematics. Second, to the authors’ knowledge, it is the first singularity-free path generation algorithm that can be applied at the path update rate of the manipulator. Third, extremely high accuracy can be achieved along the generated path almost similar to analytical solutions, if available. Fourth, the proposed approach can be adopted to any general serial manipulator including both nonredundant and redundant systems. Fifth, when applied on parallel computers, the real time implementation is possible due to the implicit parallel nature of genetic algorithms. The generality and efficiency of the proposed algorithm are demonstrated through simulations that include 2R and 3R planar manipulators, PUMA manipulator, and a general 6R serial manipulator.     

On the use of free-floating space robots in the presence of angular momentum

Free-floating space manipulator systems include at least one manipulator mounted on an unactuated spacecraft. It is known that such systems exhibit nonholonomic behavior due to angular momentum conservation. In this paper, the initial angular momentum of the system is not assumed to be zero and its influence on system behavior is studied. In contrast to the case of zero initial momentum, in the presence of momentum, the manipulator end effector in general cannot remain at a given location for indefinite time. The paper studies the conditions under which this is possible, rendering the end-effector immune to angular momentum accumulation. The relevant kinematics and dynamics are studied in 2D and 3D systems, and workspace subsets, where the end effector can remain fixed, are identified. Examples illustrate the validity of the results.