Kinematics

How it is used

Used in university courses, robot design and software. Forward kinematics calculates where the tool is from the joint angles; inverse kinematics finds the joint angles for a desired tool pose. The kinematic model uses link lengths and offsets, often written as DH parameters.

Example sentences

1. The robot's kinematics are defined in the controller, so you only work with tool positions.

2. Our custom gantry needed its own kinematics model in the motion controller.

Common collocations

• forward kinematics
• inverse kinematics
• kinematic model
• kinematic chain
• robot kinematics

Related terms

• inverse kinematicsThe calculation of the joint angles a robot needs so that its tool reaches a given position and orientation. One target can have several solutions, or none at all.
• degrees of freedomThe number of independent ways a robot or a body can move. A typical industrial arm has six, enough to place its tool at a chosen position and orientation within its workspace.
• 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.
• coordinate frameA set of X, Y and Z axes with a fixed origin, used to describe positions and orientations. Robots use several frames, such as world, base, tool and user frames.
• 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.

More terms: Motion and Kinematics

• axis
• work envelope
• tool center point
• repeatability
• accuracy
• trajectory