Motion planning for a manipulator equipped on an underwater robot

Abstract

An approach for the motion planning of an underwater manipulator is described. This approach generates the secure path of the tip of the manipulator in its workspace, which includes obstacles, using the genetic algorithm. It also decides the manipulator's posture to avoid obstacles using an evaluative function considering the drag force. In an environment setting with stationary obstacles or a dynamic obstacle, several experiments are made in order to confirm the validity of this approach.