Dexterity Measures for the Design and Control of Kinematically Redundant Manipulators

In this paper, we have proposed a number of measures for the quantification of dexterity of manipulators. The use of such measures is especially important for kinematically redundant manipulators since they can satisfy secondary cri teria in addition to satisfying a specification of end-effector motion. We will compare several measures for the problems offinding an optimal configuration for a given end-effector position, finding an optimal workpoint, and designing the op timal link lengths of an arm.