A 3-D animated simulator for robot manipulators

The 3-D animated simulator emulates an actual robot manipulator in a simulation space. The simulator is intended for use in teleoperation, where the graphical image represents the actual remote manipulator. The robot is viewed from a “camera position”. The motion of the tip of the manipulator can be traced out in the simulation space as a continuous 3-D line. The interface has the capability to graphically display the angles of the joint. It allows for a more accurate analysis of the simulated motion. The robot trajectory is defined by either a pre-calculated trajectory file or user specified end point and orientation