MULTIPARAMETER PARALLEL SEARCH BRANCH SWITCHING

A continuation method (sometimes called path following) is a way to compute solution curves of a nonlinear system of equations with a parameter. We derive a simple algorithm for branch switching at bifurcation points for multiple parameter continuation, where surfaces bifurcate along singular curves on a surface. It is a generalization of the parallel search technique used in the continuation code AUTO, and avoids the need for second derivatives and a full analysis of the bifurcation point. The one parameter case is special. While the generalization is not difficult, it is nontrivial, and the geometric interpretation may be of some interest. An additional tangent calculation at a point near the singular point is used to estimate the tangent to the singular set.

Numerical Algorithms for Mapping Boundaries of Manipulator Workspaces

Numerical algorithms for mapping boundaries of manipulator workspaces are developed and illustrated. Analytical criteria for boundaries of workspaces for both manipulators having the same number of input and output coordinates and redundantly controlled manipulators with a larger number of inputs than outputs are well known, but reliable numerical methods for mapping them have not been presented. In this paper, a numerical method is first developed for finding an initial point on the boundary. From this point, a continuation method that accounts for simple and multiple bifurcation of one-dimensional solution curves is developed. Second order Taylor expansions are derived for finding tangents to solution curves at simple bifurcation points of continuation equations and for characterizing barriers to control of manipulators. A recently developed method for tangent calculation at multiple bifurcation points is employed. A planar redundantly controlled serial manipulator is analyzed, determining both the exterior boundary of the accessible output set and interior curves that represent local impediments to motion control. Using these methods, more complex planar and spatial Stewart platform manipulators are analyzed in a companion paper.