Motion Planning of Multi-joint Underactuated Manipulator Based on Trigonometric Function Input

Based on the characteristics of nonholonomic constraints and the principle of nonlinear control, this paper proposes a structural scheme of multi-joint underactuated manipulator and the method of chained form transformation. It also presents the design of a multi-joint underactuated manipulator which can be transformed into a chained-form system and the analysis indicates its underactuated property is decided by its nonholonomic feature. Then a motion planning method based on trigonometric function input is proposed by using the trigonometric function input control method of the chained form system. Finally, the validity of the motion planning is demonstrated by the simulation analysis. This research idea and method can be applied effectively to developing new multi-joint manipulator and is indispensable in exploring the motion planning issue of multi-joint manipulator.