Multi-Criteria Optimal Placement of Manipulators in Cluttered Environments

A general method is presented to automatically determine the placement of manipulators which allows to optimize multiple kinematic performances indices during the execution of their tasks. It considers the presence of obstacles in the workstation and constraints on the motion of the manipulator’s joints. The algorithm used for obstacle avoidance allows to limit the proximity between the manipulator and the obstacles to an admissible minimum value. The complete formulation is included, and an example with a six-degree-of-freedom manipulator in a cluttered environment is solved which shows the improvements achieved for the manipulator performances by applying the proposed method.