A VLSI chip architecture for the real-time computation of direct kinematics

The architecture of a VLSI chip dedicated to the real-time computation of the Direct Kinematic Solution (DKS) is described. The design features fixed-point calculation and on-chip generation of trigonometric functions. The computed output has the resolution required for most industrial applications. Consideration of VLSI design regularity leads to the modification of the homogeneous transformation matrices. Pipelining techniques are applied to improve throughput. The control-store implementation provides adaptability to virtually all robot arms. Transistor and cell counts confirm the feasibility of a semi-custom implementation approach with current technology. Results indicate that the DKS can be obtained in microseconds with this new architecture, which amounts to a speed improvement of three orders of magnitude compared to a similar algorithm implemented on a 16-bit microprocessor.