Inverse kinematics

How it is used

Used in robotics courses, motion planning and ROS software, often shortened to IK: an IK solver, IK solutions. Industrial controllers do it automatically, but the choice between solutions (the robot configuration, such as elbow up or elbow down) still matters to programmers.

Example sentences

1. The inverse kinematics solver found no solution, so the point is out of reach.

2. In our ROS project, we tested three inverse kinematics plugins for the seven-axis arm.

Common collocations

• IK solver
• solve inverse kinematics
• inverse kinematics solution
• robot configuration

Related terms

• kinematicsThe study of motion without looking at the forces that cause it. In robotics, it describes how the joint angles relate to the position and orientation of the tool.
• singularityA robot pose in which two or more axes line up, so the arm loses a degree of freedom and some joints would have to turn extremely fast to follow a straight path.
• jointA connection between two parts of a robot arm that allows movement. A revolute joint rotates and a prismatic joint slides in a straight line; each joint is usually one axis.
• tool center pointThe reference point at the working tip of the robot's tool, such as the tip of a welding wire or the center between gripper fingers. The robot moves and positions this point.
• ROSShort for Robot Operating System: a free, open-source set of software libraries and tools for building robot applications. Despite its name, it is not an operating system; it runs on one, mainly Linux.

More terms: Motion and Kinematics

• degrees of freedom
• axis
• work envelope
• coordinate frame
• repeatability
• accuracy
• trajectory