This project focuses on the optimal path planning of redundant planar serial robots, while avoiding obstacles within its workspace. A synergy-based algorithm between convex optimization, disjunctive programming and receding horizon is employed to the end of achieving advantages such as finding the global optimum solution and low computational time. For the purpose of the problem, different cost functions can be considered, including among others, transition time, energy usage or path length. In addition, kinematic and dynamic relations of the robots under study are expressed as constraints of the problem and since they are non-convex functions, they are approximated by convex constraints.

So far, the proposed algorithm is simulated for 3-DOF and 4-DOF redundant planar serial robots in the presence of static and dynamic obstacles using CVX package in MATLAB. Now it is being tested on a 4-DOF planar serial manipulator developed in TaarLab named as “Taarm”.

Moreover, the same framework will be used for path planning of parallel robots by some minor modifications.

In order to have an experimental test platform for our optimal motion planning and fault tolerant control projects, a 4-DOF planar serial manipulator is developed. This manipulator contains four AX-12 Dynamixel actuators with good performance in position control which are connected to PC via a USB2Dynamixel card.
It should be mentioned that all experimental test algorithms should be developed in C++ at Linux to have a real-time interaction with this manipulator.

In this investigation serial manipulators are studied via Open dynamics engine.

The first part of study concentrates on planar robots. In the next stage spatial robots are investigated. Also In this work a model for obtaining dynamics equation of an n-linkage robot is presented. We also linked SolidWorks CAD files with MATLAB to demonstrate our result in a GUI (graphical User Interfaces).