Blind search inverse kinematics for controlling all types of serial-link robot arms

Abstract

The main objective of Inverse Kinematics (IK) is to find the joint variables of a serial-link manipulator to achieve a desired position and orientation relationship between the end-effector frame and a base (or reference) frame. This paper describes a general purpose Inverse Kinematics (IK) method for solving all the joint variables for any type of serial-link robotic manipulator using its Forward Kinematic (FK) solution. This method always succeeds in solving the IK solution for any design of articulated, serial-link robot arm. It will always work on any design of serial-link manipulator, regardless of the number or types of joints or degrees of freedom (rotary and/or translational) and it is simple and easy enough to be implemented into robot arm design and simulation software, even automatically, without any need for complex mathematics or custom derived equations. Known as the Blind Search method, it also works on robots with redundant joints and with workspace internal singularities and will not become unstable or fail to achieve an IK solution. Robot arm design and 3D simulation software has been written and has successfully demonstrated that the Blind Search algorithm can be used as a general-purpose IK method that is capable of controlling all types of robot arm designs and even 3D animated objects and characters. The speed of solving IK solutions numerically is dependent on software design, selected search parameters and processing power. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.