Optimal Trajectory for Path Constraint Motion of a Planar Manipulator: Using Genetic Algorithms

In the present scenario of industries, automation is considered in every activity. Automation reduces the time and effort involved in performing various tasks which indeed improves productivity. Robots are one of the major tools used prominently in automation. In the present work, time involved in moving the end-effector of a manipulator is optimized. The characteristics of the path constrained time optimal motion of a planar manipulator is studied. A 2 dof planar manipulator is considered and the path along which it needs to be traversed is defined. The dynamics of the manipulator is taken into consideration and the specified path is approximated with the use of cubic splines and optimized such that the time required for the traversal is minimum, provided a set of constraints are satisfied. The constraints include joint velocities, joint accelerations and the torque bounds.