The DLR Robot Motion Simulator Part II: Optimization based path-planning

In Part I of this paper, a novel motion simulator platform is presented, the DLR Robot Motion Simulator with 7 degrees of freedom (DOF). In this Part II, a path-planning algorithm for mentioned platform will be discussed. By replacing the widely used hexapod kinematics by an antropomorhic, industrial robot arm mounted on a standard linear axis, a comparably larger workspace at lower hardware costs can be achieved. But the serial, redundant kinematics of the industrial robot system also introduces challenges for the path-planning as singularities in the workspace, varying movability of the system and the handling of robot system´s kinematical redundancy. By solving an optimization problem with constraints in every sampling step, a feasible trajectory can be generated, fulfilling the task of motion cueing, while respecting the robot´s dynamic constraints.