Optimal motion generation of a flexible macro-micro manipulator using genetic algorithm based upon object space centered spherical coordinate

An object space centered spherical coordinate is set up to help motion generation of a flexible macro-micro manipulator system in this study. A macro-micro manipulator system consists of a macro flexible manipulator, and a micro rigid manipulator which is used to compensate for the errors at the tip of the system. Using this spherical coordinate, it is easy to reduce the solution domain so as to make the genetic algorithm more efficient. Further more, this approach can well utilize the fact that the macro manipulator can move widely but the micro manipulator should move precisely. Simulation results on a planar 4-DOF macro-micro manipulator are presented herein to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.