A realtime trajectory planning method for manipulators based on kinetic energy

Most conventional trajectory planners are based on the trapezoidal pattern of the end-effector velocity on the desired path in a task space. This method can be implemented in real time. However, the motion planned by this method usually leads to a very slow motion, because it is difficult to take into consideration a constraint on the magnitude of joint velocities or joint torques. The authors propose a new trajectory planner for three DOF manipulators based on the kinetic energy of manipulators. The supplied electric power for the manipulators mainly depends on the differentiation of the kinetic energy. Therefore, the proposed method can take into consideration the constraints on the magnitude of the supplied electric power and joint velocities, i.e. one can realize a 'high speed motion' under the constraints on the supplied electric power and joint velocities. Also, the method proposed does not require much calculation and can be implemented in real time.<<ETX>>