Real-time time-optimal control of manipulators based on gravity center motion

Fast motion is a central problem in high-performance robotics. Finding the minimum time control strategies for point to point operation of a robotic manipulator is algorithmically difficult and computationally very intensive. As a result, the practical applicability of currently available methods is very limited. In this study, we present an approximate solution to the time-optimal trajectory planning problem, from a point of view of the gravity center motion. While not producing the exact minimum-time solution, the algorithm approximated the minimum-time solution can be easily utilized online. The algorithm running on a typical PC computer only takes about 1.03 seconds, while the algorithm for the exact time optimal solution takes about 2.54 seconds. It is thus possible for real-time control