Motion space analysis of an object handled by two robot arms

The kinematic capabilities of two cooperating robot arms are studied by investigating the geometric motion space of an object handled by these two robot arms. An understanding of these capabilities is a prerequisite for the motion planning of two-arm cooperation. The motion space and the geometric motion space analysis problem are defined. These definitions are derived from those of the robot workspace analysis. The geometric constraints on the motion space are identified, and a motion space analysis procedure is developed. This procedure was applied to the case of two cooperating PUMA 560 robot arms and the motion space of a long object handled by them was computed with pregiven constraints on its orientations