Recent results in evaluation of human arm workspace

A mathematical model of human arm kinematics is presented and used for determination of the workspace reachable by the human arm. It contains two degrees of freedom (DOF) in the sternoclavicular joint of the shoulder, three DOF in the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder, and one DOF in the elbow joint. The reachable workspace is obtained by a repeated calculation of the wrist positions for various values of joint coordinates, taking into account possible collisions between the arm and the body. To evaluate and discuss the workspace properties, the criteria of manipulability and kinematic index are used.