Vector polynomial based analytical inverse kinematics and configuration design of 6R robotic arms (Q7027701)

In this article the authors derive a vector loop equation in order to solve the inverse kinematics problem of 6R robots accurate and in real-time. Angles are represented by their tangent of the half-angle, which can convert equations including trigonometric functions into polynomials.\N\NAfter derivation of the formulas, they are applied to a 3R positioning robot and a more or less arbitrary 6R robot. An end-effector pose is created with known input joint angles, and the solutions for the inverse kinematics are compared with two other numerical algorithms for the same problem. It was shown that the accuracy and computational speed is higher than in the known algorithms. It would have been beneficial to also see these results on an arbitrary manipulator, not just on one with eight inverse kinematics solutions.\N\NIn the section dealing with design issues the authors propose different combinations of the last three axes that yield a simplification of their algorithm. In contrast, the PhD thesis of \textit{D. L. Pieper} [The kinematics of manipulators under computer control. Stanford University: Department of Computer Science (PhD thesis) (1968)] -- although this was not complete -- shows possible designs that reduce the number of inverse kinematics solutions. This publication and following ones, dealing with a similar content, are not cited in this article. One could have compared, if both methods yield similar results for designing robots with fewer inverse kinematics solutions.