I.6 - Generalized Path Generation for a Mobile Manipulator

Abstract

Mobile manipulators give rise to an increasing interest in robotics laboratories and in application domains. These mechanical systems are the result of coupling manipulators with mobile platforms. They combine mobility and manipulation capabilities and seem particularly suitable for human-like tasks. This chapter provides a review on a generalized path generation algorithm for a non-holonomic mobile manipulator built from a joint manipulator mounted on a non-holonomic mobile platform. The chapter stresses on the combined evolution of the platform and of the manipulator so that the location (position and orientation) of the manipulator end effector follows a desired path, defined as a function of a parameter. There is a need for coordination because the mobile manipulator has to follow its preplanned end effector path, and at the same time, has to conserve good manipulation capability. A typical characteristic of mobile manipulators is their high degree of redundancy created by the addition of the platform degrees of mobility to the manipulator ones.