Numerical robot kinematics based on stochastic and molecular simulation methods

SUMMARY Multilink robot arms are geometrically similar to chain molecules. We investigate the performance of molecular simulation methods, combined with stochastic methods for optimization, when applied to problems of robotics. An efficient and flexible algorithm for solving the inverse kinematic problem for redundant robots in the presence of obstacle's (and other constraints) is suggested. This “Constrained Kinematics/Stochastic Optimization” (CKSO) method is tested on various standard problems.