AAS 97-718
TIME OPTIMAL PATH PLANNING IN POLAR ROBOTS WITH JOINT FLEXIBILITY
M. Mössner-Beigel, M. Steinbach, and H. Georg Bock - University of Heidelberg, Germany, R.W. Longman - Columbia University
Abstract
The nature of time optimal paths are studied for robots with flexible joints or with structural flexibility using one mode for each link, e.g. the shuttle remote manipulator. Flexibility is an important limiting factor in operating speed of robots using typical feedback controllers. It is shown here that sometimes flexibility in the joints can actually allow faster maneuver times. Also, the flexible robot problem appears to have more local minima. The computation times are in the range of one minute on a work station, so that path planning by time optimal control may soon be usable in routine robot operations.