SIMPLIFIED MODEL FOR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF ROBOTIC MANIPULATORS

The dynamic analysis of robotic manipulators is a well-known problem, but very often the inertia tensors of the links are unknown and the computational complexity is high. Tliis paper introduces a simplified approach, based on the use of a limited set of lumped masses placed along the joint axes, which provides an efficient and sufficiently accurate estimation of joint torques, linear momentum, and kinetic energy along a given trajectory. One of the main advantages brought by this approach is that its implementation does not require the knowledge of the inertia tensors of the links. Compared to traditional methods, the proposed approach offers a good balance between accuracy’ and complexity, since the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) in kinetic energy is lower than 3% with a consistent reduction in computation time (8%). Tlierefore, it is a valuable tool for the design and control of robotic manipulators in a wide range of industrial and service applications. Moreover, the quick calculation of linear momentum and kinetic energy is useful for the prediction of collision severity. The detailed description of the proposed method is completed with numerical simulations dealing with three different robotic manipulators.