A study on co-operative motion planning of a dual manipulator system for measuring radioactivity

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to describe how to make a co-operative motion plan for a dual manipulator system to measure the radioactivity of wastes produced in decommissioning a nuclear power plant. Design/methodology/approach - The system consists of two tasks: the main task generates the path of the measuring operation and the subtask maintains a good working position by co-operative motion of the two manipulators. Findings - A dual manipulator system requires an effective indicator of the current working position for the realisation of flexible co-operative motion. Extended manipulability which takes the motion limit of each joint angle into consideration, is shown to be an effective indicator. Originality/value - Extended manipulability which shows the motion possible from the current configuration, is offered as an improvement on conventional manipulability.