A method was developed that takes into account flexibility of robot links in the inverse dynamics calculations. This method uses the Newton-Euler equations and is applicable for special case systems that allow for only a small degree of flexibility. Application of the method should improve the accuracy of the position of the end effector during motion of the robot.

The results of this study show that the method can be based entirely on an existing rigid-link model with only minimal changes required as additions. The computational complexity of the method is discussed briefly as well and indicates an increase of computations of slightly more than a factor of two as compared to a rigid-link model for the same robot geometry.

This paper proposes a novel path planning algorithm of 3-D articulated robots with moving bases based on a generalized potential field model. The approach computes, similar to that done in electrostatics, repulsive forces and torques between charged objects. A collision-free path can be obtained by locally adjusting the robot configuration to search for minimum potential configurations using these forces and torques. The proposed approach is efficient since these potential gradients are analytically tractable. In order to speedup the computation, a sequential planning strategy is adopted. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm works well, in terms of collision avoidance and computation efficiency.