Bio-inspired kinematical control of redundant robotic manipulators

Purpose This paper aims to propose an innovative kinematic control algorithm for redundant robotic manipulators. The algorithm takes advantage of a bio-inspired approach. Design/methodology/approach A simplified two-degree-of-freedom model is presented to handle kinematic redundancy in the x-y plane; an extension to three-dimensional tracking tasks is presented as well. A set of sample trajectories was used to evaluate the performances of the proposed algorithm. Findings The results from the simulations confirm the continuity and accuracy of generated joint profiles for given end-effector trajectories as well as algorithm robustness, singularity and self-collision avoidance. Originality/value This paper shows how to control a redundant robotic arm by applying human upper arm-inspired concept of inter-joint dependency.