Sub-time-optimal trajectory plannings for cooperative multi-manipulator systems using the load distribution scheme

A sub-time-optimal trajectory planning scheme for a cooperative multimanipulator system (CMMS) is presented. It is assumed that the desired path is given and is parameterizable by an arclength function. The goal is to find the load distribution factors that divide the given load into each share of manipulators in CMMS in a time-optimal manner. This approach uses a specific generalized inverse and an optimization search scheme, for example, a linear search algorithm for the dual robots case. Compared with the time-optimal trajectory planning approaches, which are required to employ the linear programming method, this sub-optimal method requires only a fraction of the computation time. In a limited case, this approach becomes the true time-optimal method for cooperative multimanipulators