Innovative closed-form solution and workspace analysis for a 5-DOF manipulator

An innovative closed-form solution was proposed to address the inverse kinematics for a 5 degree of freedom (DOF) manipulator. This closed-form solution could be solved the disadvantages of numerical methods (Numerical methods were slower than closed-form solutions and do not allow computation of all possible solutions in some cases). The kinematics of this manipulator was modeled based on the Denavit-Hartenberg method. Based on the particular geometric features of this manipulator, only one orientation vector and the position vector were selected to propose this innovative closed-form solution for the inverse kinematics. Additionally, a saddle surface was chosen in the kinematics simulation for the grinding task of this manipulator. The validity of the proposed closed-form solution is verified via Matlab numerical simulation and ADAMS virtual prototype simulation. The overall consistency of positions and orientations corresponding to the tool desired trajectory and the tool traversal trajectory can be found from the simulations. Finally, the reachable workspace of this manipulator is obtained for the further structure optimization and motion control. ©, 2015, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. All right reserved.