Fast Robot Arm Inverse Kinematics and Path Planning Under Complex Static and Dynamic Obstacle Constraints

Abstract

Described here is a simple, reliable, and quite general method for rapid computation of robot arm inverse kinematic solutions and motion path plans in the presence of complex obstructions. The method derived from the MSC (map-seeking circuit) algorithm, optimized to exploit the characteristics of practical arm configurations. The representation naturally incorporates both arm and obstacle geometries. The consequent performance on modern hardware is suitable for applications requiring real-time response, including smooth continuous avoidance of dynamic obstacles which impinge on the planned path during the traversal of the arm. On high-end GPGPU hardware computation of both final pose for an 8 DOF arm and a smooth obstacle-avoiding motion path to that pose takes approximately 200-300msec depending on the number of waypoints implemented. The mathematics of the method is accessible to high school seniors, making it suitable for broad instruction. [Note: This revision includes a general compute strategy for paths from arbitrary pose to arbitrary pose and a compute strategy for continuous motion mid-course avoidance of dynamic obstacles.]