Kinodynamic motion planning for robotic arms on mobile platforms

Project Summary

Kinodynamic motion planning attempts to solve a robotic arm motion path that is subject to both kinematic and dynamic constraints. When the robotic arm is stationary it is typically powered by a conventional DC power source. The optimization objective of the motion planning is to use the actuators at each joint of the arm, close to their optimal efficiency within the constraints dictated by the desired path.

When a robotic arm is mounted on a mobile platform, it is powered by a battery whose characteristics are different from a conventional DC power source (especially the ability to handle current demand surges). Thus the actual challenge is to work within these battery constraints in planning the motion path.

The expected outcome from this project at Systemantics is to develop a motion planning algorithm that plans a trajectory which respects the characteristics of a battery technology.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree student from the relevant field

Key skills

Familiarity and experience with any 2 of the following required:

-Kinematics and dynamics of manipulators
-Variational calculus and optimization methods
-Dynamics of actuators
-Battery management systems