Inverse kinematics algorithm for space robots using the virtual manipulator approach

The equivalent model of free floating space robots was developed by using virtual manipulator (VM) approach. A new algorithm for solving the inverse kinematics of free floating space robots was proposed, which is more efficient than the accelerated implicit approximate-linear-programming method (AIALPA). The problem on avoiding dynamic singularities was substituted by an alternate problem on avoiding the kinematic singularities of the virtual manipulator. And an example was presented for verifying the validity of the proposed algorithm. The results show that the same joint motion curves are determined by both algorithms. However, the iterations of the proposed algorithm are approximately half of that of the AIALPA algorithm.