J.M. McCarthy

Papers

Total Citations

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About

J.M. McCarthy is a leading figure in the field of robotic mechanism design and kinematics, with a particular focus on the synthesis of articulated systems for motion control. His research bridges theoretical kinematics and practical robotics, exploring how constraints and actuation influence optimal movement. In his most cited work, "The number of saturated actuators and constraint forces during time-optimal movement of a general robotic system" (2003, 4 citations), McCarthy and his co-authors reformulate the time-optimal control problem for general robots, demonstrating that the maximum path acceleration emerges as the solution to a linear programming problem. This insight reveals that optimal solutions correspond to extreme points of feasible actuator sets, providing a foundational framework for understanding how constraints shape robotic performance. While his citation count is modest, McCarthy’s contributions are valued for their rigorous mathematical clarity, offering students and researchers a systematic approach to analyzing actuator saturation and force distribution in robotic systems. His work remains a reference point for those exploring the intersection of optimization, kinematics, and control in mechanism design.