Implementation of a New and Efficient Algorithm for the Inverse Kinematics of Serial 6R Chains

The aim of the reported project was to implement a new and efficient algorithm that yields simultaneously all solutions of the inverse kinematics of general 6R chains in a fast software prototype based on a C# code. The algorithm itself was developed in the working group of the authors and was previously only running in a computer algebra system. It is well known that the inverse kinematics problem of general 6R chains is highly nonlinear and yields in general 16 solutions. Using geometric preprocessing the new algorithm reduces the initial mathematical description to several linear and only two nonlinear equations. This paper recalls the algorithm, discusses the software and shows how this tool can be used in path planning and singularity detection along a path.