Forward Calibration of Closed-Loop Jointed Manipulators

A method for performing forward kinematic calibration of manipulators with one or more closed-loop actuated joints is presented. The technique is an extension of algorithms de signed for open-loop jointed manipulators and is equivalent to minimizing a constrained objective function. The con straints arise from the closed-loop mechanisms in the manip ulator. The objective function is taken as the integral of end effector position and orientation error and is optimized using the method of Lagrange multipliers.