Introduction to Robotics

Emmanuel Ali(PhD)

November 15, 2024

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Outline

1 Degree of Freedom

2 Rigid Body

3 Robot Kinematic

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Kinematics

Robot kinematics is the branch of robotics that deals with the study of
the motion of robot manipulators, specifically focusing on their
geometry and how they move without considering the forces and
torques involved. Kinematics involves analyzing the position, velocity,
and acceleration of the robot’s parts (joints and end-effector) in a
coordinate system.

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Types of kinematics

There are two main aspects of robot kinematics:

Forward Kinematics: Forward kinematics is concerned with
calculating the position and orientation (pose) of the robot’s
end-effector or any other point on the robot’s structure based on
the known joint angles or joint variables. It answers the question:
”Given the joint angles or joint variables, where is the end-effector
located in space?”
Inverse Kinematics: Inverse kinematics is the process of
determining the joint angles or joint variables required to position
the robot’s end-effector at a specific desired location and
orientation. It answers the question: ”Given the desired
end-effector position and orientation, what are the joint angles or
joint variables to achieve that position?”

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Geometric robot model
Consider the set of blocks shown. A frame is attached to each of the
four blocks and the task is to calculate the pose of frame O3 with
respect to the reference frame O0 .

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Geometric robot model
   
0 0 1 0 1 0 0 11
0
−1 0 0 6  1 0 0 1 −1
Solutions: H1 =    H2 =  
0 −1 0 11   0 −1 0 8 
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
 
1 0 0 3
2 H = 0 −1 0 1

3

0 0 −1 6
0 0 0 1
Thus, multiplying the above matrices results the position and
orientation of the fourth block with respect to the first one
0 H =0 H .1 H .2 H
3  1 2 3 
0 1 0 7
0 H = −1 0 0 −8
 
3 0 0 1 6
0 0 0 1

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Geometric robot model
Consider a SCARA robot in an arbitrary pose;
- l1 , l2 , l3 – lengths of first (vertical), second (horizontal) and third
(horizontal) segments
- θ1 , θ2 – rotational angles of first and second joints
- d3 – translational displacement of third joint (end-effector)

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Geometric Robot Model
Solutions:

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Geometric robot model
  
1 0 0 0 cos θ1 − sin θ1 0 0
0 1 0 0   sin θ1 cos θ1 0 0
0

H1 D 1 = 
0 0
=
1 l1   0 0 1 0
 0 0 0 1  0 0 0 1
cos θ1 − sin θ1 0 0
 sin θ1 cos θ1 0 0
 
 0 0 1 l1 
0 0 0 1
  
1 0 0 0 cos θ2 − sin θ2 0 0
1
0 1 0 l2   sin θ2
  cos θ2 0 0
H2 D2 = 0 0
=
1 0  0 0 1 0
 0 0 0 1  0 0 0 1
cos θ1 − sin θ1 0 0
 sin θ1 cos θ1 0 l2 
 
 0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1

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Geometric robot model

    
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2
0 1 0 l3  0 1 0 0  0 1 0 l3 
H3 = 
0 0 1 0  0 0 1 d3  = 0 0 1 d3 
   

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Thus, multiplying the above matrices results the position and orientation of
the fourth block with respect to the first one
0
H3 =0H1 .1 H2 .2 H3 
cos(θ1 + θ2 ) − sin(θ1 + θ2 ) 0 −l3 sin(θ1 + θ2 ) − l2 sin θ1
0
 sin(θ1 + θ2 ) cos(θ1 + θ2 ) 0 l3 cos(θ1 + θ2 ) + l2 cos θ1 
H3 = 
 
0 0 1 l1 + d3 
0 0 0 1

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Geometric robot model

The Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) convention is a systematic method for

modeling and describing the kinematics of robotic manipulators,
particularly serial-link manipulators. This convention provides a
standardized and concise way to represent the transformation between
consecutive robot links and joints, making it easier to perform forward
and inverse kinematics calculations, motion planning, and control. The
DH convention defines a set of parameters for each joint and link and
organizes them in a standardized manner.
You can chain these transformation matrices together to find the
complete transformation from the base frame to the end-effector frame,
which allows you to determine the end-effector’s position and
orientation based on the joint angles or configurations.

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Geometric robot model

The DH convention includes the following parameters for each joint and link:
Link Length (a): The distance from the center of joint i to the intersection
of the common normal between axis zi and axis zi + 1 with the plane
perpendicular to axis xi . This parameter represents the distance between the
axes of two consecutive joints along their common normal. It specifies how far
the joint’s center is from the next joint.
Link Twist (α): The angle between axis zi and axis zi+1 , measured about
the common normal. This parameter represents the rotation about the
common normal between the axes of two consecutive joints. It defines how
much the current joint twists relative to the next joint
Link Offset (d): The distance along the common normal from joint i to joint
i+1, measured along axis zi + 1. This parameter specifies the displacement
along the common normal between the axes of the current and next joints. It
defines how much the joint is displaced in the direction of the next joint.
Joint Angle (θ): The angle between axis xi and axis xi+1 , measured about
axis zi . This parameter represents the rotation about the axis of the current
joint. It indicates the angle by which the current joint rotates.

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Geometric robot model

The DH parameters are usually associated with joint i and the link
that follows it. By organizing these parameters systematically, the DH
convention allows you to calculate the transformation from one link to
the next in a straightforward manner. The transformation matrix from
link i to link i+1 can be represented as a 4x4 homogeneous
transformation matrix based on these parameters.
The DH transformation matrix, often denoted as Ai , represents the
transformation from link i to link i+1 and is given as:
Hi = Rot(z, θ) ∗ T rans(z, d) ∗ T rans(x, a) ∗ Rot(x, α)
Where:
- Rot(z, θ) is the rotation about the z-axis by angle θ.
- T rans(z, d) is the translation along the z-axis by distance d.
- T rans(x, a) is the translation along the x-axis by distance a.
- Rot(x, α) is the rotation about the x-axis by angle α.

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Geometric robot model

Consider the SCARA robot arm and derive a geometric model of the
robot using Denavit-Hartenberg convention.

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Geometric robot model

Link a α d θ
1 0 0 l1 0
2 l2 0 0 θ1
3 l3 0 0 θ2
4 0 0 d3 0

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Geometric robot model
 
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
H1 =
0 0

1 l1 
0 0 0 1 
cos θ1 − sin θ1 0 l2 cos θ1
 sin θ1 cos θ1 0 l2 sin θ1 
H2 =
 0

0 1 0 
0 0 0 1
 
cos θ2 − sin θ2 0 l3 cos θ2
 sin θ2 cos θ2 0 l3 sin θ2 
H3 =
 0

0 1 0 
 0 0 0 1
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
H4 =
0 0

1 d3 
0 0 0 1

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Geometric robot model

0
H4 = H0 H1 H2 H3
0
H4 =   
1 0 0 0 cos θ1 − sin θ1 0 l2 cos θ1 cos θ2 − sin θ2 0 l3 cos θ2
0 1 0 0   sin θ1 cos θ1 0 l2 sin θ1   sin θ2 cos θ2 0 l3 sin θ2 
  
 
0 0 1 l1   0 0 1 0  0 0 1 0 
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
 1
cos(θ1 + θ2 ) − sin(θ1 + θ2 ) 0 l3 cos(θ1 + θ2 ) − l2 cos θ1
0
 sin(θ1 + θ2 ) cos(θ1 + θ2 ) 0 l3 sin(θ1 + θ2 ) + l2 sin θ1 
H4 = 
 
0 0 1 l1 + d3 
0 0 0 1

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Geometric robot model
Consider the three-link planar robot manipulator. Use the
Denavit-Hartenberg convention to derive a geometric robot model of
the manipulator representing the pose of the end-effector with respect
to the base frame.

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Geometric robot model

Link a α d θ
1 l1 0 0 θ1
2 l2 0 0 θ2
3 l3 0 0 θ3

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Geometric robot model

 
cos θ1 − sin θ1 0 l1 cos θ1
 sin θ1 cos θ1 0 l1 sin θ1 
H1 = 
 0

0 1 0 
 0 0 0 1 
cos θ2 − sin θ2 0 l2 cos θ2
 sin θ2 cos θ2 0 l2 sin θ2 
H2 = 
 0

0 1 0 
0 0 0 1
 
cos θ3 − sin θ3 0 l3 cos θ3
 sin θ3 cos θ3 0 l3 sin θ3 
H3 = 
 0

0 1 0 
0 0 0 1

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Geometric Robot Model

0H = H1 H2 H3
3
0H =
 3 
cos(θ1 + θ2 + θ3 ) − sin(θ1 + θ2 + θ3 ) 0 l3 cos(θ1 + θ2 + θ3 ) + l2 cos(θ1 + θ2 ) + l1 cos θ1
 sin(θ1 + θ2 + θ3 ) cos(θ1 + θ2 + θ3 ) 0 l3 sin(θ1 + θ2 + θ3 ) + l2 sin(θ1 + θ2 ) + l1 sin θ1 
 
 0 0 1 0 
0 0 0 1

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