Title: Multi-objective weighted isotropy measures for the morphological design optimisation of kinematically redundant manipulators

Authors: F.L. Hammond III, K. Shimada

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA

Abstract: The morphological design of kinematically redundant robotic manipulators is a non-trivial, task-specific process. The availability of redundant degrees of freedom (DOF) affords a redundant manipulator an infinite number of motion solutions for a given task, thereby allowing the achievement secondary manipulation goals. Motion control methods play an integral role in the quality of redundancy resolution, but the degree of resolution attainable by these methods is ultimately determined by morphological design. In this study, a weighted isotropy measure is developed for use in optimising kinematically redundant manipulator design quality. This measure is designed to quantify manipulator performance on multiple secondary motion goals. The measure is employed as a morphological fitness metric for a constrained non-linear morphology optimisation problem. Optimisation results show that using the weighted isotropy measure significantly increased the performance levels of a kinematically redundant manipulator, with respect to secondary manipulation goals, for the intended set of tasks.

Keywords: kinematic redundancy; obstacle avoidance; robot dynamics; robot kinematics; optimisation; weighted isotropy; manipulability; constrained optimisation; redundant manipulators; redundant robots; design optimisation; morphological optimisation; robot design; robot control; motion control; robot motion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMS.2011.039265

International Journal of Mechatronics and Manufacturing Systems, 2011 Vol.4 No.2, pp.150 - 170

Published online: 07 Mar 2015 *

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