Avoiding dynamic singularities in Cartesian motions of free-floating manipulators

Free-floating manipulators are subject to dynamic singularities that complicate their Cartesian motions and restrict their workspace. In this work, the Cartesian trajectory planning of free-floating manipulators is studied. A methodology is developed in which, for given end-effector trajectories, appropriate initial system configurations are found that result in singularity avoidance during end-effector motion. The method applies to both planar and spatial systems, with and without initial angular momentum, and to any desired end-effector position and attitude trajectories.