On generating the motion of industrial robot manipulators

In this study, an intelligent search algorithm is proposed to define the path that leads to the desired position and orientation of an industrial robot's manipulator end effector. The search algorithm gradually approaches the desired configuration by selecting and evaluating a number of alternative robot's configurations. A grid of the robot's alternative configurations is constructed using a set of parameters which are reducing the search space to minimize the computational time. In the evaluation of the alternatives, multiple criteria are used in order for the different requirements to be fulfilled. The alternative configurations are generated with emphasis being given to the robot's joints that mainly affect the position of the end effector. Grid resolution and size parameters are set on the basis of the desired output. High resolution is used for a smooth path and lower for a rough estimation, by providing only a number of the intermediate points to the goal position. The path derived is a series of robot configurations. This method provides an inexperienced robot programmer with flexibility to generate automatically a robotic path that would fulfill the desired criteria without having to record intermediate points to the goal position. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.