Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/1385717
RAIN PROGRESS // The multi-criteria inverse kinematics algorithm (MulticriteriaIK) which is an inverse kinematics algorithm for redundant manipulators has been developed. However, MulticriteriaIK is an algorithm which not only takes the underlying kinematics of the robot into account, but also additional performance criteria are considered in the solution. The main advantage of MulticriteriaIK is the simplicity of the framework for imposing multiple performance measures into the inverse kinematics solutions. Despite similar inverse kinematics algorithms available in the literature, where the number of performance measures imposed on the inverse kinematics solutions is limited to the redundancy of the robot, MulticriteriaIK uses the weighted sum of the performance measures and introduces them into the inverse kinematics solution. The method is not specific for a particular robot but can be applied to all redundant manipulators. The algorithm has been tested in a simulation environment which is built for the RAIN remote handling challenge and depicts a cluttered glove box. For a robot with 1 degree-of-freedom redundancy, MulticriteriaIK is implemented with two performance measures for achieving singularity and collision free joint trajectories. REMOTE HANDLING FUTURE ASPIRATIONS // MulticriteriaIK is an algorithm developed for redundant manipulators; therefore, it will find use in many applications where a redundant robot is present. From the RAIN Hub perspective, the primary goal is to demonstrate the capabilities of the algorithm for glovebox decommissioning tasks and validate the efficacy in terms of reducing the task load on the operator. The implementation of the algorithm in ROS (Robot Operating System) is completed and the packages are tested in the simulation environment. Next steps include implementation on the glove box mock-up and the robots used for remote manipulation. Eventually, the goal is to introduce the MulticriteriaIK algorithm to robots working on wider nuclear tasks and collaborate with end-users and partners to achieve easier tele-manipulation in nuclear applications. 55 We have successfully shown that the proposed approach is successfully handling the inverse kinematics problem and provides collision free trajectories for the robot. Hence, the operator can safely drive the robot in the glove box without worrying about the collisions.