Optimal command ordering for serial link manipulators

Reducing the number of cables needed for the actuators and sensors of humanoid and other robots with high numbers of degrees of freedom (DoF) is a relevant problem, often solved by using a common bus for all communication, which may result in bandwidth limitation problems. This paper proposes an optimized method to re-order the commands sent to the joint-local controllers of a serial manipulator. The proposed method evaluates which local controller would benefit the most from an updated command given a cost function, and sends a command to this controller. As is demonstrated in both simulation and on a real robot, the resulting scheme can significantly improve system performance, equivalent to increasing the communication frequency by up to 3 times.