Neil David McKay

About

Neil David McKay is a pioneering researcher in robotic motion planning and control, whose work fundamentally shaped how engineers approach the problem of moving robotic manipulators efficiently along constrained paths. Active primarily during the 1980s and early 1990s, McKay made landmark contributions to minimum-time trajectory planning, most notably through his highly influential 1985 paper "Minimum-time control of robotic manipulators with geometric path constraints," which has garnered nearly 1,000 citations and remains a cornerstone reference in robotics literature. By tackling the coupled, nonlinear dynamics of robot arms directly rather than relying on simplified decoupled models, McKay helped bridge the gap between theoretical control and practical implementation. His 1986 dynamic programming approach to trajectory planning (369 citations) provided an elegant computational framework for optimizing manipulator motion under torque and force constraints. Further contributions addressed near-minimum-time path selection, robust planning under payload uncertainty, and generalized torque constraints for industrial robots — collectively accumulating over 1,600 citations. McKay's body of work has had lasting impact on industrial robotics, laying essential groundwork for efficient, constraint-aware motion planning systems still relevant to modern automation and manufacturing.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Minimum-time control of robotic manipulators with geometric path constraints

   992 citations · 1985
2. 2
   A dynamic programming approach to trajectory planning of robotic manipulators

   369 citations · 1986
3. 3
   Selection of near-minimum time geometric paths for robotic manipulators

   120 citations · 1986
4. 4
   Robust trajectory planning for robotic manipulators under payload uncertainties

   43 citations · 1987
5. 5
   Minimum-time trajectory planning for industrial robots with general torque constraints

   29 citations · 1986
6. 6
   Selection of Near-Minimum Time Geometric Paths for Robotic Manipulators

   17 citations · 1985
7. 7
   An efficient robot arm control under geometric path constraints

   14 citations · 1983
8. 8
   Minimum Cost Trajectory Planning for Industrial Robots

   12 citations · 1991
9. 9
   Automatic generation of trajectory planners for industrial robots

   10 citations · 1986
10. 10
    Robot path planning using dynamic programming

    9 citations · 1984

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links