Fast collision avoidance for manipulator arms: a sequential search strategy

A novel sequential strategy is presented to plan collision-free motions for a manipulator arm (such as PUMA 260). The basic idea behind the approach is to plan the motion of each link successively, starting from the base link. Suppose that the motion of links until link i (including link i) has been planned. This already determines the path of one end (the proximal end) of link i+1. The motion of link i+1 is now planned along this path by controlling the degree of freedom associated with it-a two-dimensional motion planning problem. This strategy results in one one-dimensional (the first link is degenerate) and n-1 two-dimensional problems instead of one n-dimensional problem for an n-link manipulator arm. In most reasonable cases, the strategy should quickly find a path. At the very least, it will form a front end to a more complete planner