A new computational approach to real-time trajectory generation for constrained mechanical systems

Preliminary results of a new computational approach to generate aggressive trajectories in real-time for constrained mechanical systems are presented. The algorithm is based on a combination of the nonlinear control theory, spline theory, and sequential quadratic programming. It is demonstrated that real-time trajectory generation for constrained mechanical systems is possible by mapping the problem to one of finding trajectory curves in a lower dimensional space. Performance of the algorithm is compared with existing optimal trajectory generation techniques. Numerical results are reported using the nonlinear trajectory generation software package.