A Novel Algorithm for Time Optimal Trajectory Planning

Time optimal trajectory planning under various hard constraints plays a significant role in simultaneously meeting the requirements on high productivity and high accuracy in the fields of both machining tools and robotics. In this paper, the problem of time optimal trajectory planning is first formulated. A novel back and forward check algorithm is subsequently proposed to solve the minimum time feed-rate optimization problem. The basic idea of the algorithm is to search the feasible solution in the specified interval using the back or forward operations. Four lemmas are presented to illustrate the calculating procedure of optimal solution and the feasibility of the proposed algorithm. Both the elliptic curve and eight profile are used as case studies to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.Copyright © 2014 by ASME