Inverse Kinematics of a Serial Manipulator with a Free Joint for Aerial Manipulation

In Aerial Manipulation, the motion of the robotic arm can cause unwanted movements of the flying base affecting the trajectory tracking capability. A possible solution to reduce these disturbances is to use a free revolute joint between the flying base and the manipulator, thus reducing the torque a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alberto Pasetto, Mattia Pedrocco, Riccardo Zenari, Silvio Cocuzza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8390
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Summary:In Aerial Manipulation, the motion of the robotic arm can cause unwanted movements of the flying base affecting the trajectory tracking capability. A possible solution to reduce these disturbances is to use a free revolute joint between the flying base and the manipulator, thus reducing the torque applied to the base from the manipulator. In this paper, a novel approach to solve the inverse kinematics of an aerial manipulator with a free revolute joint is presented. The approach exploits the Generalized Jacobian to deal with the presence of a mobile base, and the dynamics of the system is considered to predict the motion of the non-actuated joint; external forces acting on the system are also included. The method is implemented in MATLAB for a planar case considering the parameters of a real manipulator attached to a real octocopter. The tracking of a trajectory with the end-effector and a load picking task are simulated for a non-redundant and for a redundant manipulator. Simulation results demonstrate the capability of this approach in following the desired trajectories and reducing rotation and horizontal translation of the base.
ISSN:2076-3417