Trajectory generation and control for automatic manipulation

SUMMARY A method is described to convert information available at manipulator programming level into trajectories which are suitable for tracking by a servo control system. This process generates trajectories in real time which comply with general dynamic and kinematic constraints. Tracking accuracy will depend mainly on the acceleration demand of the nominal trajectory setpoints - the actuator output demands, in particular, must remain bounded. Our scheme takes into consideration at the trajectory computation level the dynamics of the underlying system, dynamically available information acquired through sensors, and various types of constraints, such as manipulators. It has been developed in the context of a multi-manipulator programming and control system called Kali and developed at McGill University.