Communication

Abstract

The paper considers the design of a computationally efficient trajectory planner for a manipulator. The design is based on a discrete dynamic robot model recently proposed by Neu man and Tourassis. The trajectory planner is formulated as a linear program (LP) with objective function and constraints expressed as linear functions of the reciprocals of the discrete time intervals of the model. The LP allows fast computation and flexibility in choice of criteria and constraints for the trajectory. The design is illustrated by some simulation ex amples for a two-link manipulator with rotary joints.