Forward kinematics
Related papers: 20
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Forward kinematics is a fundamental computational method in robotics that determines the position and orientation of a robot's end-effector — such as a gripper or tool — given a specific set of joint angles or actuator configurations. Working from the robot's base outward through each link and joint in sequence, it applies geometric transformations (typically represented as homogeneous transformation matrices or product-of-exponentials formulas) to map joint-space values to the robot's Cartesian position and orientation in 3D space. Forward kinematics is used across virtually all robot types — serial manipulators, parallel mechanisms like the Stewart platform, continuum robots, and exoskeletons — to simulate motion, plan trajectories, and verify configurations before execution. It serves as the foundation for robot simulation tools, calibration algorithms, and control systems, and is a prerequisite for solving the more complex inverse kinematics problem. Its importance lies in enabling engineers to predict exactly where a robot will move without physical trial and error, which is critical for safety, precision manufacturing, surgical robotics, and animation. Without forward kinematics, reliable motion planning and real-time robot control would be practically impossible.
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Robot Kinematics: Forward and Inverse Kinematics
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Solvability-Unconcerned Inverse Kinematics by the Levenberg–Marquardt Method
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Local POE model for robot kinematic calibration
I‐Ming Chen, Guilin Yang, Chee Tat. Tan, Song Huat Yeo
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Kinematic analysis of a Stewart platform manipulator
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Neural Network based Inverse Kinematics Solution for Trajectory Tracking of a Robotic Arm
Adrian-Vasile Duka
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Direct kinematics of planar parallel manipulators
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Design of Continuous Backbone, Cable-Driven Robots
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A hybrid strategy to solve the forward kinematics problem in parallel manipulators
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Accuracy analysis of 3-DOF planar parallel robots
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