Advances in Robot Kinematics and Computational Geometry

This text presents recent advances in robot kinematics and computational geometry in kinematics. More than 50 contributions report the effective mathematical forms for mapping between various types of co-ordinate systems, methods to minimize the numerical complexity of algorithms for real-time control schemes, and analytical tools for understanding and evaluating motion properties of various mechanisms used in a robotic system. The book is divided into 12 sections, identified as the prevalent areas of contemporary research in kinematics and computational geometry as applied to robots and mechanisms. They include the following topics: workspace and trajectory analysis, computational geometry in kinematics, kinematic errors and calibration, kinematics of mobile robots, kinematic performance, kinematics in control, force and elasticity analysis, inverse kinematics, kinematic design, kinematic analysis, parallel manipulators, as well as task and motion planning. The book should be of interest to researchers, graduate students, mathematicians and engineers specializing in kinematics of robots and mechanisms in the area of mathematical modelling, design, control, and simulation.