Optimal task placement in a metamorphic manipulator workspace in the presence of obstacles

Abstract

The optimization of the task placement as well as the anatomy of a metamorphic manipulator in the presence of obstacles is presented. The rigid links of the metamorphic manipulator and the obstacles are represented using point clouds. An optimization problem is formulated, where the minimum manipulability index is maximized deriving a collision-free path using a genetic algorithm. A 3 DoF metamorphic manipulator is used as a case study.