Sub-optimal trajectory planning for mobile manipulators

Abstract

SUMMARY This paper presents a method of planning a sub-optimal trajectory for a mobile manipulator subject to mechanical and control constraints. The path of the end-effector is defined as a curve that can be parameterised by any scaling parameter—the reference trajectory of a mobile platform is not needed. Constraints connected with the existence of mechanical limits for a given manipulator configuration, collision avoidance conditions and control constraints are considered. Nonholonomic constraints in a Pfaffian form are explicitly incorporated to the control algorithm. To avoid manipulator singularities, the motion of the robot is planned in order to maximise the manipulability measure.