INSTANTANEOUS INVERSE KINEMATIC SOLUTION FOR REDUNDANT MANIPULATORS BASED ON VIRTUAL ARMS AND ITS APPLICATION TO WINDING CONTROL

We propose an instantaneous inverse kinematic solution for redundant m anipulators based on virtual arms. The virtual arm has the same kinema tic structure as the manipulator except that its end point is located on the joint or link of the manipulator. Providing that the appropriat e number of virtual arms is used, the configuration of the manipulator can be represented by a set of end points of the virtual arms. First of all, we formalize the kinematics of virtual arms and derive instant aneous inverse kinematics. Then, the method is applied to winding cont rol for hyperredundant manipulators. The proposed winding control algo rithm is divided into two steps: 1) planning desired positions for vir tual end points, and 2) integrating them into joint trajectory of the manipulator. The desired positions of each virtual arm can be planned in a parallel and distributed manner, and there is no necessity for co nsidering joint space of the manipulator. Finally, computer simulation s show that the winding control for a hyperredundant manipulator can b e performed in 3 D-space.