Kinematics of free-floating systems through optimal control theory

Abstract

This work presents a new method for solving the inverse kinematical problem for freefloating space manipulators. It is based on a novel formulation of the problem within the framework of optimal control theory for discrete linear systems, thanks to a reconsideration of the energy conservation property of this class of systems. This way, inverse kinematics is obtained in a purely deductive manner, quite analogous to previous works by the author about dynamical forward and backward models, for either multibody or continuous hyperredundant actuated mechanical systems. One important by-product of the approach is an effective way for detecting dynamical singularities for the considered class of systems. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.