Optimal Paths for a Mobile Manipulator using the Leapfrog Method

Abstract

This paper deals with finding optimal paths for a mobile manipulator in the presence of obstacles. The motion planning of the robot kinematic system is formulated as an optimal control problem. Applying Pontryagin's minimum principle, indirect conditions of optimality are derived for the optimal motion planning problem and solved numerically using the Leapfrog method. Simulation results for the mobile manipulator are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.