Dynamic task priority approach to avoid kinematic singularity for autonomous manipulation

In this paper, we describe an on-line trajectory control scheme for robotic manipulators with dynamic change of the task priority. First, given tasks are reconstructed using a geometric projection on the given index function. Then, the reconstructed tasks are analyzed in the framework of task priority based method. From this analysis, the proposed algorithm is shown to have the property that the task priority is assigned dynamically. Using this algorithm, we easily set the criteria of changing task priority and estimate the performance of the given index function. Considering the measure of manipulability as a index function, the approach is suitable for avoiding kinematic singularities for autonomous operation of, for example, underwater robot. The result shows a good performance near the singular configurations, as shown by simulation results.