Time-Optimal Point-To-Point Motion Planning and Assembly Mode Change of Cuspidal Manipulators: Application to 3R and 6R Robots

The kinematics of cuspidal 3R regional robots was studied extensively in the past. Moreover, certain industrial 6R robots were found to be cuspidal (e.g. Fanuc CRX series, Kinova GEN2), which makes cuspidal robots finally interesting for practical applications. This necessitates optimal trajectory planning, respecting the dynamics and technical limits of the particular robot. In this paper, a method for singularity-free time-optimal point-to-point trajectory (PtP) trajectory planning is proposed. As a special case, this method is applicable to time-optimal singularity-free assembly mode changing. Results are shown for 3R robots and a 6R Fanuc CRX10iA/L.