Control of kinematically redundant manipulator with actuator constraints

This study addresses the problem of collision-free controlling a kinematically redundant manipulator whose end-effector follows a prescribed geometric path given in the task space. The control constraints resulting from the physical abilities of robot actuators are also taken into account during the robot movement. Through the use of the exterior penalty function approach, collision avoidance of the manipulator with obstacles may be ensured. Provided that, a solution to the aforementioned robot task exists, the Lyapunov stability theory is used to derive the control scheme. The numerical simulation results carried out for a planar manipulator whose end-effector follows a prescribed geometric path given in a work space including obstacles, illustrate the controller performance.