Optimal Base Placement for a Discretely Actuated Robotic Manipulator (D-ARM)

A "Discretely Actuated Robotic Manipulator", or "D-ARM", is any member of a class of robotic manipulators powered by actuators that have only discrete positional stable states such as solenoids. One of the most significant kinematic phenomena of D-ARMs is the discreteness of both input range and end-effector frames. The main characteristics of D-ARMs are: stability at each state without feedback loop; high task repeatability; mechanism simplicity; minimal supporting devices; low cost. These are strong advantages for all engineering field, including: manufacturing automation; mobile robot; space structure; micro/nano mechanism. This paper illustrates a pre-processing step that conditions the baseline manipulator for its kinematic synthesis. The computation derives the optimal pose of the baseline manipulator for minimal alteration that will meet the design criteria. The proposed process utilizes SE(3)-differentiation techniques. The conducted simulations demonstrate the feasibility of the synthesis method.