Inverse Kinematic Solver Based on Bat Algorithm for Robotic Arm Path Planning

Abstract

The bat algorithm (BA) is a nature inspired algorithm which is mimicking the bio-sensing characteristics of bats, known as echolocation. This paper suggests a Bat-based meta-heuristic for the inverse kinematics problem of a robotic arm. An intrinsically modified BA is proposed to find an inverse kinematics (IK) solution, respecting a minimum variation of the joints’ elongation from the initial configuration of the robot manipulator to the proposed new pause position. The proposed method is called IK-BA, it stands for a specific bat algorithm dedicated to robotic-arms’ inverse geometric solution, and where the elongation control mechanism is embedded in bat agents update equations. Performances analysis and comparatives to related state of art meta-heuristics solvers showed the effectiveness of the proposed IK bat solver for single point IK planning as well as for geometric path planning, which may have several industrial applications. IK-BA was also applied to a real robotic arm with a spherical wrist as a proof of concept and pertinence of the proposed approach.