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 MODERN ROBOTICS

MECHANICS, PLANNING, AND CONTROL

Kevin M. Lynch and Frank C. Park

May 3, 2017

This document is the preprint version of

Modern Robotics
Mechanics, Planning, and Control
c Kevin M. Lynch and Frank C. Park

This preprint is being made available for personal use only and not for further
distribution. The book will be published by Cambridge University Press in
May 2017, ISBN 9781107156302. Citations of the book should cite Cambridge
University Press as the publisher, with a publication date of 2017. Original
figures from this book may be reused provided proper citation is given. More
information on the book, including software, videos, and a feedback form can
be found at http://modernrobotics.org. Comments are welcome!
Contents

Foreword by Roger Brockett ix

Foreword by Matthew Mason xi

Preface xiii

1 Preview 1

2 Configuration Space 11
2.1 Degrees of Freedom of a Rigid Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 Degrees of Freedom of a Robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.1 Robot Joints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2.2 Grübler’s Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3 Configuration Space: Topology and Representation . . . . . . . . 23
2.3.1 Configuration Space Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.3.2 Configuration Space Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.4 Configuration and Velocity Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.5 Task Space and Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.7 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

3 Rigid-Body Motions 59
3.1 Rigid-Body Motions in the Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.2 Rotations and Angular Velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3.2.1 Rotation Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3.2.2 Angular Velocities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
3.2.3 Exponential Coordinate Representation of Rotation . . . 79
3.3 Rigid-Body Motions and Twists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

i
ii Contents

3.3.1 Homogeneous Transformation Matrices . . . . . . . . . . 89

3.3.2 Twists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3.3.3 Exponential Coordinate Representation of Rigid-Body Mo-
tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
3.4 Wrenches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
3.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
3.6 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
3.7 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
3.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

4 Forward Kinematics 137

4.1 Product of Exponentials Formula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
4.1.1 First Formulation: Screw Axes in the Base Frame . . . . 141
4.1.2 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
4.1.3 Second Formulation: Screw Axes in the End-E↵ector Frame148
4.2 The Universal Robot Description Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.3 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
4.4 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
4.5 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
4.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

5 Velocity Kinematics and Statics 171

5.1 Manipulator Jacobian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
5.1.1 Space Jacobian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
5.1.2 Body Jacobian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
5.1.3 Visualizing the Space and Body Jacobian . . . . . . . . . 185
5.1.4 Relationship between the Space and Body Jacobian . . . 187
5.1.5 Alternative Notions of the Jacobian . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
5.1.6 Looking Ahead to Inverse Velocity Kinematics . . . . . . 189
5.2 Statics of Open Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
5.3 Singularity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
5.4 Manipulability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
5.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
5.6 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
5.7 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
5.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

6 Inverse Kinematics 219

6.1 Analytic Inverse Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
6.1.1 6R PUMA-Type Arm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
6.1.2 Stanford-Type Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

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Contents iii

6.2 Numerical Inverse Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

6.2.1 Newton–Raphson Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
6.2.2 Numerical Inverse Kinematics Algorithm . . . . . . . . . 227
6.3 Inverse Velocity Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
6.4 A Note on Closed Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
6.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
6.6 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
6.7 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
6.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

7 Kinematics of Closed Chains 245

7.1 Inverse and Forward Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
7.1.1 3⇥RPR Planar Parallel Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
7.1.2 Stewart–Gough Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
7.1.3 General Parallel Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
7.2 Di↵erential Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
7.2.1 Stewart–Gough Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
7.2.2 General Parallel Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
7.3 Singularities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
7.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
7.5 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
7.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

8 Dynamics of Open Chains 271

8.1 Lagrangian Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
8.1.1 Basic Concepts and Motivating Examples . . . . . . . . . 272
8.1.2 General Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
8.1.3 Understanding the Mass Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
8.1.4 Lagrangian Dynamics vs. Newton–Euler Dynamics . . . . 281
8.2 Dynamics of a Single Rigid Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
8.2.1 Classical Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
8.2.2 Twist–Wrench Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
8.2.3 Dynamics in Other Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
8.3 Newton–Euler Inverse Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
8.3.1 Derivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
8.3.2 Newton-Euler Inverse Dynamics Algorithm . . . . . . . . 294
8.4 Dynamic Equations in Closed Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
8.5 Forward Dynamics of Open Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
8.6 Dynamics in the Task Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
8.7 Constrained Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

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8.8 Robot Dynamics in the URDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

8.9 Actuation, Gearing, and Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
8.9.1 DC Motors and Gearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
8.9.2 Apparent Inertia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
8.9.3 Newton–Euler Inverse Dynamics Algorithm Accounting
for Motor Inertias and Gearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
8.9.4 Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
8.9.5 Joint and Link Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
8.10 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
8.11 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
8.12 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
8.13 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

9 Trajectory Generation 325

9.1 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
9.2 Point-to-Point Trajectories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
9.2.1 Straight-Line Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
9.2.2 Time Scaling a Straight-Line Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
9.3 Polynomial Via Point Trajectories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
9.4 Time-Optimal Time Scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
9.4.1 The (s, ṡ) Phase Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
9.4.2 The Time-Scaling Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
9.4.3 A Variation on the Time-Scaling Algorithm . . . . . . . . 342
9.4.4 Assumptions and Caveats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
9.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
9.6 Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
9.7 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
9.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

10 Motion Planning 353

10.1 Overview of Motion Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
10.1.1 Types of Motion Planning Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
10.1.2 Properties of Motion Planners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
10.1.3 Motion Planning Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
10.2 Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
10.2.1 Configuration Space Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
10.2.2 Distance to Obstacles and Collision Detection . . . . . . . 362
10.2.3 Graphs and Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
10.2.4 Graph Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
10.3 Complete Path Planners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

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Contents v

10.4 Grid Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

10.4.1 Multi-Resolution Grid Representation . . . . . . . . . . . 372
10.4.2 Grid Methods with Motion Constraints . . . . . . . . . . 373
10.5 Sampling Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
10.5.1 The RRT Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
10.5.2 The PRM Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
10.6 Virtual Potential Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
10.6.1 A Point in C-space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
10.6.2 Navigation Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
10.6.3 Workspace Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
10.6.4 Wheeled Mobile Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
10.6.5 Use of Potential Fields in Planners . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
10.7 Nonlinear Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
10.8 Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
10.9 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
10.10Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
10.11Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

11 Robot Control 403

11.1 Control System Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
11.2 Error Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
11.2.1 Error Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
11.2.2 Linear Error Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406
11.3 Motion Control with Velocity Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
11.3.1 Motion Control of a Single Joint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
11.3.2 Motion Control of a Multi-joint Robot . . . . . . . . . . . 418
11.3.3 Task-Space Motion Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
11.4 Motion Control with Torque or Force Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
11.4.1 Motion Control of a Single Joint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
11.4.2 Motion Control of a Multi-joint Robot . . . . . . . . . . . 429
11.4.3 Task-Space Motion Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
11.5 Force Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
11.6 Hybrid Motion–Force Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
11.6.1 Natural and Artificial Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
11.6.2 A Hybrid Motion–Force Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
11.7 Impedance Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
11.7.1 Impedance-Control Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
11.7.2 Admittance-Control Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
11.8 Low-Level Joint Force/Torque Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
11.9 Other Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

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vi Contents

11.10Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
11.11Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
11.12Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
11.13Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453

12 Grasping and Manipulation 461

12.1 Contact Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
12.1.1 First-Order Analysis of a Single Contact . . . . . . . . . . 463
12.1.2 Contact Types: Rolling, Sliding, and Breaking Free . . . . 465
12.1.3 Multiple Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
12.1.4 Collections of Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
12.1.5 Other Types of Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
12.1.6 Planar Graphical Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
12.1.7 Form Closure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
12.2 Contact Forces and Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
12.2.1 Friction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
12.2.2 Planar Graphical Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
12.2.3 Force Closure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
12.2.4 Duality of Force and Motion Freedoms . . . . . . . . . . . 494
12.3 Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
12.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
12.5 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
12.6 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

13 Wheeled Mobile Robots 513

13.1 Types of Wheeled Mobile Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514
13.2 Omnidirectional Wheeled Mobile Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
13.2.1 Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
13.2.2 Motion Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
13.2.3 Feedback Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
13.3 Nonholonomic Wheeled Mobile Robots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
13.3.1 Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
13.3.2 Controllability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
13.3.3 Motion Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
13.3.4 Feedback Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
13.4 Odometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
13.5 Mobile Manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
13.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
13.7 Notes and References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
13.8 Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

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A Summary of Useful Formulas 565

B Other Representations of Rotations 575

B.1 Euler Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
B.1.1 Algorithm for Computing the ZYX Euler Angles . . . . . 577
B.1.2 Other Euler Angle Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
B.2 Roll–Pitch–Yaw Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
B.3 Unit Quaternions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
B.4 Cayley–Rodrigues Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582

C Denavit–Hartenberg Parameters 585

C.1 Assigning Link Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
C.2 Why Four Parameters are Sufficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
C.3 Manipulator Forward Kinematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590
C.4 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
C.5 Relation Between the PoE and D–H Representations . . . . . . . 593
C.6 A Final Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595

D Optimization and Lagrange Multipliers 597

Bibliography 599

Index 617

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viii Contents

May 2017 preprint of Modern Robotics, Lynch and Park, Cambridge U. Press, 2017. http://modernrobotics.org
Foreword by Roger
Brockett

In the 1870s, Felix Klein was developing his far-reaching Erlangen Program,
which cemented the relationship between geometry and group theoretic ideas.
With Sophus Lie’s nearly simultaneous development of a theory of continuous
(Lie) groups, important new tools involving infinitesimal analysis based on Lie
algebraic ideas became available for the study of a very wide range of geomet-
ric problems. Even today, the thinking behind these ideas continues to guide
developments in important areas of mathematics. Kinematic mechanisms are,
of course, more than just geometry; they need to accelerate, avoid collisions,
etc., but first of all they are geometrical objects and the ideas of Klein and Lie
apply. The groups of rigid motions in two or three dimensions, as they appear
in robotics, are important examples in the work of Klein and Lie.
In the mathematics literature the representation of elements of a Lie group in
terms of exponentials usually takes one of two di↵erent forms. These are known
as exponential coordinates of the first kind and exponential coordinates of the
second kind. For the first kind one has X = e(A1 x1 +A2 x2 ··· ) . For the second kind
this is replaced by X = eA1 x1 eA2 x2 · · · . Up until now, the first choice has found
little utility in the study of kinematics whereas the second choice, a special case
having already shown up in Euler parametrizations of the orthogonal group,
turns out to be remarkably well-suited for the description of open kinematic
chains consisting of the concatenation of single degree of freedom links. This
is all nicely explained in Chapter 4 of this book. Together with the fact that
1
P eA P 1 = eP AP , the second form allows one to express a wide variety of
kinematic problems very succinctly. From a historical perspective, the use of
the product of exponentials to represent robotic movement, as the authors have
done here, can be seen as illustrating the practical utility of the 150-year-old
ideas of the geometers Klein and Lie.
In 1983 I was invited to speak at the triennial Mathematical Theory of Net-

ix
x Foreword

works and Systems Conference in Beer Sheva, Israel, and after a little thought
I decided to try to explain something about what my recent experiences had
taught me. By then I had some experience in teaching a robotics course that
discussed kinematics, including the use of the product of exponentials represen-
tation of kinematic chains. From the 1960s onward eAt had played a central
role in system theory and signal processing, so at this conference a familiarity,
even an a↵ection, for the matrix exponential could be counted on. Given this, it
was natural for me to pick something eAx -related for the talk. Although I had
no reason to think that there would be many in the audience with an interest
in kinematics, I still hoped I could say something interesting and maybe even
inspire further developments. The result was the paper referred to in the preface
that follows.
In this book, Frank and Kevin have provided a wonderfully clear and patient
explanation of their subject. They translate the foundation laid out by Klein
and Lie 150 years ago to the modern practice of robotics, at a level appropriate
for undergraduate engineers. After an elegant discussion of fundamental prop-
erties of configuration spaces, they introduce the Lie group representations of
rigid-body configurations, and the corresponding representations of velocities
and forces, used throughout the book. This consistent perspective is carried
through foundational robotics topics including forward, inverse, and di↵erential
kinematics of open chains, robot dynamics, trajectory generation, and robot
control, and more specialized topics such as kinematics of closed chains, motion
planning, robot manipulation, planning and control for wheeled mobile robots,
and control of mobile manipulators.
I am confident that this book will be a valuable resource for a generation of
students and practitioners of robotics.

Roger Brockett
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
November, 2016

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Foreword by Matthew
Mason

Robotics is about turning ideas into action. Somehow, robots turn abstract
goals into physical action: sending power to motors, monitoring motions, and
guiding things towards the goal. Every human can perform this trick, but it
is nonetheless so intriguing that it has captivated philosophers and scientists,
including Descartes and many others.
What is the secret? Did some roboticist have a eureka moment? Did some
pair of teenage entrepreneurs hit on the key idea in their garage? To the con-
trary, it is not a single idea. It is a substantial body of scientific and engineer-
ing results, accumulated over centuries. It draws primarily from mathematics,
physics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science,
but also from philosophy, psychology, biology and other fields.
Robotics is the gathering place of these ideas. Robotics provides motivation.
Robotics tests ideas and steers continuing research. Finally, robotics is the
proof. Observing a robot’s behavior is the nearly compelling proof that machines
can be aware of their surroundings, can develop meaningful goals, and can act
e↵ectively to accomplish those goals. The same principles apply to a thermostat
or a fly-ball governor, but few are persuaded by watching a thermostat. Nearly
all are persuaded by watching a robot soccer team.
The heart of robotics is motion – controlled programmable motion – which
brings us to the present text. Modern Robotics imparts the most important
insights of robotics: the nature of motion, the motions available to rigid bodies,
the use of kinematic constraint to organize motions, the mechanisms that enable
general programmable motion, the static and dynamic character of mechanisms,
and the challenges and approaches to control, programming, and planning mo-
tions. Modern Robotics presents this material with a clarity that makes it acces-
sible to undergraduate students. It is distinguished from other undergraduate
texts in two important ways.

xi
xii Foreword

First, in addressing rigid-body motion, Modern Robotics presents not only

the classical geometrical underpinnings and representations, but also their ex-
pression using modern matrix exponentials, and the connection to Lie algebras.
The rewards to the students are two-fold: a deeper understanding of motion,
and better practical tools.
Second, Modern Robotics goes beyond a focus on robot mechanisms to ad-
dress the interaction with objects in the surrounding world. When robots make
contact with the real world, the result is an ad hoc kinematic mechanism, with
associated statics and dynamics. The mechanism includes kinematic loops, un-
actuated joints, and nonholonomic constraints, all of which will be familiar
concepts to students of Modern Robotics.
Even if this is the only robotics course students take, it will enable them
to analyze, control, and program a wide range of physical systems. With its
introduction to the mechanics of physical interaction, Modern Robotics is also
an excellent beginning for the student who intends to continue with advanced
courses or with original research in robotics.

Matthew T. Mason
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
November, 2016

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Preface

It was at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in

Pasadena in 2008 when, over a beer, we decided to write an undergraduate
textbook on robotics. Since 1996, Frank had been teaching robot kinematics to
Seoul National University undergraduates using his own lecture notes; by 2008
these notes had evolved to the kernel around which this book was written. Kevin
had been teaching his introductory robotics class at Northwestern University
from his own set of notes, with content drawn from an eclectic collection of
papers and books.
We believe that there is a distinct and unifying perspective to mechanics,
planning, and control for robots that is lost if these subjects are studied inde-
pendently, or as part of other more traditional subjects. At the 2008 meeting,
we noted the lack of a textbook that (a) treated these topics in a unified way,
with plenty of exercises and figures, and (b), most importantly, was written
at a level appropriate for a first robotics course for undergraduates with only
freshman-level physics, ordinary di↵erential equations, linear algebra, and a lit-
tle bit of computing background. We decided that the only sensible recourse
was to write such a book ourselves. (We didn’t know then that it would take
us more than eight years to finish the project!)
A second motivation for this book, and one that we believe sets it apart from
other introductory treatments on robotics, is its emphasis on modern geometric
techniques. Often the most salient physical features of a robot are best captured
by a geometric description. The advantages of the geometric approach have been
recognized for quite some time by practitioners of classical screw theory. What
has made these tools largely inaccessible to undergraduates—the primary tar-
get audience for this book—is that they require an entirely new language of
notations and constructs (screws, twists, wrenches, reciprocity, transversality,
conjugacy, etc.), and their often obscure rules for manipulation and transfor-
mation. On the other hand, the mostly algebraic alternatives to screw theory
often mean that students end up buried in the details of calculation, losing the

xiii
xiv Preface

simple and elegant geometric interpretation that lies at the heart of what they
are calculating.
The breakthrough that makes the techniques of classical screw theory ac-
cessible to a more general audience arrived in the early 1980’s, when Roger
Brockett showed how to mathematically describe kinematic chains in terms of
the Lie group structure of the rigid-body motions [20]. This discovery allowed
one, among other things, to re-invent screw theory simply by appealing to basic
linear algebra and linear di↵erential equations. With this “modern screw the-
ory” the powerful tools of modern di↵erential geometry can be brought to bear
on a wide-ranging collection of robotics problems, some of which we explore
here, others of which are covered in the excellent but more advanced graduate
textbook by Murray, Li and Sastry [122].
As the title indicates, this book covers what we feel to be the fundamentals
of robot mechanics, together with the basics of planning and control. A thor-
ough treatment of all the chapters would likely take two semesters, particularly
when coupled with programming assignments or experiments with robots. The
contents of Chapters 2-6 constitute the minimum essentials, and these topics
should probably be covered in sequence.
The instructor can then selectively choose content from the remaining chap-
ters. At Seoul National University, the undergraduate course M2794.0027 Intro-
duction to Robotics covers, in one semester, Chapters 2-7 and parts of Chapters
10, 11, and 12. At Northwestern, ME 449 Robotic Manipulation covers, in an 11-
week quarter, Chapters 2-6 and 8, then touches on di↵erent topics in Chapters
9-13 depending on the interests of the students and instructor. A course focus-
ing on the kinematics of robot arms and wheeled vehicles could cover chapters
2-7 and 13, while a course on kinematics and motion planning could addition-
ally include Chapters 9 and 10. A course on the mechanics of manipulation
would cover Chapters 2-6, 8, and 12, while a course on robot control would
cover Chapters 2-6, 8, 9, and 11. If the instructor prefers to avoid dynamics
(Chapter 8), the basics of robot control (Chapters 11 and 13) can be covered by
assuming control of velocity at each actuator, not forces and torques. A course
focusing only on motion planning could cover Chapters 2 and 3, Chapter 10 in
depth (possibly supplemented by research papers or other references cited in
that chapter), and Chapter 13.
To help the instructor choose which topics to teach and to help the student
keep track of what she has learned, we have included a summary at the end of
each chapter and a summary of important notation and formulas used through-
out the book (Appendix A). For those whose primary interest in this text is
as an introductory reference, we have attempted to provide a reasonably com-
prehensive, though by no means exhaustive, set of references and bibliographic

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Preface xv

notes at the end of each chapter. Some of the exercises provided at the end of
each chapter extend the basic results covered in the book, and for those who
wish to probe further, these should be of some interest in their own right. Some
of the more advanced material in the book can be used to support independent
study projects.
Another important component of the book is the software, which is written
to reinforce the concepts in the book and to make the formulas operational. The
software was developed primarily by Kevin’s ME 449 students at Northwestern
and is freely downloadable from http://modernrobotics.org. Video lectures
that accompany the textbook will also be available at the website. The intent
of the video content is to “flip” the classroom. Students watch the brief lectures
on their own time, rewinding and rewatching as needed, and class time is fo-
cused more on collaborative problem-solving. This way, the professor is present
when the students are applying the material and discovering the gaps in their
understanding, creating the opportunity for interactive mini-lectures addressing
the concepts that need most reinforcing. We believe that the added value of
the professor is greatest in this interactive role, not in delivering a lecture the
same way it was delivered the previous year. This approach has worked well for
Kevin’s introduction to mechatronics course, http://nu32.org.
Video content is generated using the Lightboard, http://lightboard.info,
created by Michael Peshkin at Northwestern University. We thank him for
sharing this convenient and e↵ective tool for creating instructional videos.
We have also found the V-REP robot simulation software to be a valuable
supplement to the book and its software. This simulation software allows stu-
dents to interactively explore the kinematics of robot arms and mobile manipu-
lators and to animate trajectories that are the result of exercises on kinematics,
dynamics, and control.
While this book presents our own perspective on how to introduce the fun-
damental topics in first courses on robot mechanics, planning, and control, we
acknowledge the excellent textbooks that already exist and that have served
our field well. Among these, we would like to mention as particularly influential
the books by Murray, Li, and Sastry [122]; Craig [32]; Spong, Hutchinson, and
Vidyasagar [177]; Siciliano, Sciavicco, Villani, and Oriolo [171]; Mason [109];
Corke [30]; and the motion planning books by Latombe [80], LaValle [83], and
Choset, Lynch, Hutchinson, Kantor, Burgard, Kavraki, and Thrun [27]. In ad-
dition, the Handbook of Robotics [170], edited by Siciliano and Khatib with
a multimedia extension edited by Kröger (http://handbookofrobotics.org),
is a landmark in our field, collecting the perspectives of hundreds of leading
researchers on a huge variety of topics relevant to modern robotics.
It is our pleasure to acknowledge the many people who have been the sources

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xvi Preface

of help and inspiration in writing this book. In particular, we would like to

thank our Ph.D. advisors, Roger Brockett and Matt Mason. Brockett laid down
much of the foundation for the geometric approach to robotics employed in this
book. Mason’s pioneering contributions to analysis and planning for manipula-
tion form a cornerstone of modern robotics. We also thank the many students
who provided feedback on various versions of this material, in M2794.0027 at
Seoul National University and in ME 449 at Northwestern University. In par-
ticular, Frank would like to thank Seunghyeon Kim, Keunjun Choi, Jisoo Hong,
Jinkyu Kim, Youngsuk Hong, Wooyoung Kim, Cheongjae Jang, Taeyoon Lee,
Soocheol Noh, Kyumin Park, Seongjae Jeong, Sukho Yoon, Jaewoon Kwen,
Jinhyuk Park, and Jihoon Song, as well as Jim Bobrow and Scott Ploen from
his time at UC Irvine. Kevin would like to thank Matt Elwin, Sherif Mostafa,
Nelson Rosa, Jarvis Schultz, Jian Shi, Mikhail Todes, Huan Weng, and Zack
Woodru↵.
Finally, and most importantly, we thank our wives and families, for putting
up with our late nights and our general unavailability, and for supporting us as
we made the final push to finish the book. Without the love and support of
Hyunmee, Shiyeon, and Soonkyu (Frank) and Yuko, Erin, and Patrick (Kevin),
this book would not exist. We dedicate this book to them.

Kevin M. Lynch
Evanston, Illinois, USA
Frank C. Park
Seoul, Korea
November, 2016

Publication note. The authors consider themselves to be equal contributors

to this book. Author order is alphabetical.

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Chapter 1

Preview

As an academic discipline, robotics is a relatively young field with highly am-

bitious goals, the ultimate one being the creation of machines that can behave
and think like humans. This attempt to create intelligent machines naturally
leads us first to examine ourselves – to ask, for example, why our bodies are
designed the way they are, how our limbs are coordinated, and how we learn and
perform complex tasks. The sense that the fundamental questions in robotics
are ultimately questions about ourselves is part of what makes robotics such a
fascinating and engaging endeavor.
Our focus in this book is on mechanics, planning, and control for robot
mechanisms. Robot arms are one familiar example. So are wheeled vehicles,
as are robot arms mounted on wheeled vehicles. Basically, a mechanism is con-
structed by connecting rigid bodies, called links, together by means of joints,
so that relative motion between adjacent links becomes possible. Actuation of
the joints, typically by electric motors, then causes the robot to move and exert
forces in desired ways.
The links of a robot mechanism can be arranged in serial fashion, like the
familiar open-chain arm shown in Figure 1.1(a). Robot mechanisms can also
have links that form closed loops, such as the Stewart–Gough platform shown
in Figure 1.1(b). In the case of an open chain, all the joints are actuated, while
in the case of mechanisms with closed loops, only a subset of the joints may be
actuated.
Let us examine more closely the current technology behind robot mecha-
nisms. The links are moved by actuators, which typically are electrically driven
(e.g., by DC or AC motors, stepper motors, or shape memory alloys) but can
also be driven by pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders. In the case of rotating

1
2

(a) An open-chain industrial manipulator, (b) Stewart–Gough platform. Closed

visualized in V-REP [154]. loops are formed from the base plat-
form, through the legs, through the top
platform, and through the legs back to
the base platform.

Figure 1.1: Open-chain and closed-chain robot mechanisms.

electric motors, these would ideally be lightweight, operate at relatively low ro-
tational speeds (e.g., in the range of hundreds of RPM), and be able to generate
large forces and torques. Since most currently available motors operate at low
torques and at up to thousands of RPM, speed reduction and torque ampli-
fication are required. Examples of such transmissions or transformers include
gears, cable drives, belts and pulleys, and chains and sprockets. These speed-
reduction devices should have zero or low slippage and backlash (defined as
the amount of rotation available at the output of the speed-reduction device
without motion at the input). Brakes may also be attached to stop the robot
quickly or to maintain a stationary posture.
Robots are also equipped with sensors to measure the motion at the joints.
For both revolute and prismatic joints, encoders, potentiometers, or resolvers
measure the displacement and sometimes tachometers are used to measure ve-
locity. Forces and torques at the joints or at the end-e↵ector of the robot can be
measured using various types of force–torque sensors. Additional sensors may
be used to help localize objects or the robot itself, such as vision-only cameras,
RGB-D cameras which measure the color (RGB) and depth (D) to each pixel,
laser range finders, and various types of acoustic sensor.
The study of robotics often includes artificial intelligence and computer per-
ception, but an essential feature of any robot is that it moves in the physical

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Chapter 1. Preview 3

world. Therefore, this book, which is intended to support a first course in

robotics for undergraduates and graduate students, focuses on mechanics, mo-
tion planning, and control of robot mechanisms.
In the rest of this chapter we provide a preview of the rest of the book.

Chapter 2: Configuration Space

As mentioned above, at its most basic level a robot consists of rigid bodies
connected by joints, with the joints driven by actuators. In practice the links
may not be completely rigid, and the joints may be a↵ected by factors such as
elasticity, backlash, friction, and hysteresis. In this book we ignore these e↵ects
for the most part and assume that all links are rigid.
With this assumption, Chapter 2 focuses on representing the configuration
of a robot system, which is a specification of the position of every point of the
robot. Since the robot consists of a collection of rigid bodies connected by
joints, our study begins with understanding the configuration of a rigid body.
We see that the configuration of a rigid body in the plane can be described
using three variables (two for the position and one for the orientation) and the
configuration of a rigid body in space can be described using six variables (three
for the position and three for the orientation). The number of variables is the
number of degrees of freedom (dof) of the rigid body. It is also the dimension
of the configuration space, the space of all configurations of the body.
The dof of a robot, and hence the dimension of its configuration space, is
the sum of the dof of its rigid bodies minus the number of constraints on the
motion of those rigid bodies provided by the joints. For example, the two most
popular joints, revolute (rotational) and prismatic (translational) joints, allow
only one motion freedom between the two bodies they connect. Therefore a
revolute or prismatic joint can be thought of as providing five constraints on
the motion of one spatial rigid body relative to another. Knowing the dof of
a rigid body and the number of constraints provided by joints, we can derive
Grübler’s formula for calculating the dof of general robot mechanisms. For
open-chain robots such as the industrial manipulator of Figure 1.1(a), each
joint is independently actuated and the dof is simply the sum of the freedoms
provided by each joint. For closed chains like the Stewart–Gough platform
in Figure 1.1(b), Grübler’s formula is a convenient way to calculate a lower
bound on the dof. Unlike open-chain robots, some joints of closed chains are
not actuated.
Apart from calculating the dof, other configuration space concepts of interest
include the topology (or “shape”) of the configuration space and its repre-
sentation. Two configuration spaces of the same dimension may have di↵erent

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4

shapes, just like a two-dimensional plane has a di↵erent shape from the two-
dimensional surface of a sphere. These di↵erences become important when de-
termining how to represent the space. The surface of a unit sphere, for example,
could be represented using a minimal number of coordinates, such as latitude
and longitude, or it could be represented by three numbers (x, y, z) subject to
the constraint x2 + y 2 + z 2 = 1. The former is an explicit parametrization
of the space and the latter is an implicit parametrization of the space. Each
type of representation has its advantages, but in this book we will use implicit
representations of configurations of rigid bodies.
A robot arm is typically equipped with a hand or gripper, more generally
called an end-e↵ector, which interacts with objects in the surrounding world.
To accomplish a task such as picking up an object, we are concerned with the
configuration of a reference frame rigidly attached to the end-e↵ector, and not
necessarily the configuration of the entire arm. We call the space of positions
and orientations of the end-e↵ector frame the task space and note that there
is not a one-to-one mapping between the robot’s configuration space and the
task space. The workspace is defined to be the subset of the task space that
the end-e↵ector frame can reach.

Chapter 3: Rigid-Body Motions

This chapter addresses the problem of how to describe mathematically the mo-
tion of a rigid body moving in three-dimensional physical space. One convenient
way is to attach a reference frame to the rigid body and to develop a way to
quantitatively describe the frame’s position and orientation as it moves. As a
first step, we introduce a 3 ⇥ 3 matrix representation for describing a frame’s
orientation; such a matrix is referred to as a rotation matrix.
A rotation matrix is parametrized by three independent coordinates. The
most natural and intuitive way to visualize a rotation matrix is in terms of its
exponential coordinate representation. That is, given a rotation matrix R,
there exists some unit vector ! ˆ 2 R3 and angle ✓ 2 [0, ⇡] such that the rota-
tion matrix can be obtained by rotating the identity frame (that is, the frame
corresponding to the identity matrix) about ! ˆ by ✓. The exponential coordi-
nates are defined as ! = ! ˆ ✓ 2 R , which is a three-parameter representation.
3

There are several other well-known coordinate representations, e.g., Euler an-
gles, Cayley–Rodrigues parameters, and unit quaternions, which are discussed
in Appendix B.
Another reason for focusing on the exponential description of rotations is
that they lead directly to the exponential description of rigid-body motions.
The latter can be viewed as a modern geometric interpretation of classical screw

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Chapter 1. Preview 5

theory. Keeping the classical terminology as much as possible, we cover in detail

the linear algebraic constructs of screw theory, including the unified description
of linear and angular velocities as six-dimensional twists (also known as spa-
tial velocities), and an analogous description of three-dimensional forces and
moments as six-dimensional wrenches (also known as spatial forces).

Chapter 4: Forward Kinematics

For an open chain, the position and orientation of the end-e↵ector are uniquely
determined from the joint positions. The forward kinematics problem is to
find the position and orientation of the reference frame attached to the end-
e↵ector given the set of joint positions. In this chapter we present the product
of exponentials (PoE) formula describing the forward kinematics of open
chains. As the name implies, the PoE formula is directly derived from the expo-
nential coordinate representation for rigid-body motions. Aside from providing
an intuitive and easily visualizable interpretation of the exponential coordinates
as the twists of the joint axes, the PoE formula o↵ers other advantages, like
eliminating the need for link frames (only the base frame and end-e↵ector frame
are required, and these can be chosen arbitrarily).
In Appendix C we also present the Denavit–Hartenberg (D–H) representa-
tion for forward kinematics. The D–H representation uses fewer parameters but
requires that reference frames be attached to each link following special rules of
assignment, which can be cumbersome. Details of the transformation from the
D–H to the PoE representation are also provided in Appendix C.

Chapter 5: Velocity Kinematics and Statics

Velocity kinematics refers to the relationship between the joint linear and an-
gular velocities and those of the end-e↵ector frame. Central to velocity kine-
matics is the Jacobian of the forward kinematics. By multiplying the vector
of joint-velocity rates by this configuration-dependent matrix, the twist of the
end-e↵ector frame can be obtained for any given robot configuration. Kine-
matic singularities, which are configurations in which the end-e↵ector frame
loses the ability to move or rotate in one or more directions, correspond to those
configurations at which the Jacobian matrix fails to have maximal rank. The
manipulability ellipsoid, whose shape indicates the ease with which the robot
can move in various directions, is also derived from the Jacobian.
Finally, the Jacobian is also central to static force analysis. In static equilib-
rium settings, the Jacobian is used to determine what forces and torques need to
be exerted at the joints in order for the end-e↵ector to apply a desired wrench.

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6

The definition of the Jacobian depends on the representation of the end-

e↵ector velocity, and our preferred representation of the end-e↵ector velocity
is as a six-dimensional twist. We touch briefly on other representations of the
end-e↵ector velocity and their corresponding Jacobians.

Chapter 6: Inverse Kinematics

The inverse kinematics problem is to determine the set of joint positions
that achieves a desired end-e↵ector configuration. For open-chain robots, the
inverse kinematics is in general more involved than the forward kinematics: for
a given set of joint positions there usually exists a unique end-e↵ector position
and orientation but, for a particular end-e↵ector position and orientation, there
may exist multiple solutions to the jont positions, or no solution at all.
In this chapter we first examine a popular class of six-dof open-chain struc-
tures whose inverse kinematics admits a closed-form analytic solution. Itera-
tive numerical algorithms are then derived for solving the inverse kinematics
of general open chains by taking advantage of the inverse of the Jacobian. If
the open-chain robot is kinematically redundant, meaning that it has more
joints than the dimension of the task space, then we use the pseudoinverse of
the Jacobian.

Chapter 7: Kinematics of Closed Chains

While open chains have unique forward kinematics solutions, closed chains of-
ten have multiple forward kinematics solutions, and sometimes even multiple
solutions for the inverse kinematics as well. Also, because closed chains possess
both actuated and passive joints, the kinematic singularity analysis of closed
chains presents subtleties not encountered in open chains. In this chapter we
study the basic concepts and tools for the kinematic analysis of closed chains.
We begin with a detailed case study of mechanisms such as the planar five-bar
linkage and the Stewart–Gough platform. These results are then generalized
into a systematic methodology for the kinematic analysis of more general closed
chains.

Chapter 8: Dynamics of Open Chains

Dynamics is the study of motion taking into account the forces and torques
that cause it. In this chapter we study the dynamics of open-chain robots. In
analogy to the notions of a robot’s forward and inverse kinematics, the forward
dynamics problem is to determine the resulting joint accelerations for a given
set of joint forces and torques. The inverse dynamics problem is to determine

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Chapter 1. Preview 7

the input joint torques and forces needed for desired joint accelerations. The
dynamic equations relating the forces and torques to the motion of the robot’s
links are given by a set of second-order ordinary di↵erential equations.
The dynamics for an open-chain robot can be derived using one of two ap-
proaches. In the Lagrangian approach, first a set of coordinates – referred to
as generalized coordinates in the classical dynamics literature – is chosen to
parametrize the configuration space. The sum of the potential and kinetic
energies of the robot’s links are then expressed in terms of the generalized
coordinates and their time derivatives. These are then substituted into the
Euler–Lagrange equations, which then lead to a set of second-order di↵er-
ential equations for the dynamics, expressed in the chosen coordinates for the
configuration space.
The Newton–Euler approach builds on the generalization of f = ma, i.e.,
the equations governing the acceleration of a rigid body given the wrench acting
on it. Given the joint variables and their time derivatives, the Newton–Euler
approach to inverse dynamics is: to propagate the link velocities and accelera-
tions outward from the proximal link to the distal link, in order to determine
the velocity and acceleration of each link; to use the equations of motion for
a rigid body to calculate the wrench (and therefore the joint force or torque)
that must be acting on the outermost link; and to proceed along the links back
toward the base of the robot, calculating the joint forces or torques needed to
create the motion of each link and to support the wrench transmitted to the dis-
tal links. Because of the open-chain structure, the dynamics can be formulated
recursively.
In this chapter we examine both approaches to deriving a robot’s dynamic
equations. Recursive algorithms for both the forward and inverse dynamics, as
well as analytical formulations of the dynamic equations, are presented.

Chapter 9: Trajectory Generation

What sets a robot apart from an automated machine is that it should be easily
reprogrammable for di↵erent tasks. Di↵erent tasks require di↵erent motions,
and it would be unreasonable to expect the user to specify the entire time-
history of each joint for every task; clearly it would be desirable for the robot’s
control computer to “fill in the details” from a small set of task input data.
This chapter is concerned with the automatic generation of joint trajectories
from this set of task input data. Formally, a trajectory consists of a path, which
is a purely geometric description of the sequence of configurations achieved by
a robot, and a time scaling, which specifies the times at which those configu-
rations are reached.

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8

Often the input task data is given in the form of an ordered set of joint values,
called control points, together with a corresponding set of control times. On the
basis of this data the trajectory generation algorithm produces a trajectory for
each joint which satisfies various user-supplied conditions. In this chapter we
focus on three cases: (i) point-to-point straight-line trajectories in both joint
space and task space; (ii) smooth trajectories passing through a sequence of
timed “via points”; and (iii) time-optimal trajectories along specified paths,
subject to the robot’s dynamics and actuator limits. Finding paths that avoid
collisions is the subject of the next chapter on motion planning.

Chapter 10: Motion Planning

This chapter addresses the problem of finding a collision-free motion for a robot
through a cluttered workspace, while avoiding joint limits, actuator limits, and
other physical constraints imposed on the robot. The path planning problem
is a subproblem of the general motion planning problem that is concerned with
finding a collision-free path between a start and goal configuration, usually
without regard to the dynamics, the duration of the motion, or other constraints
on the motion or control inputs.
There is no single planner applicable to all motion planning problems. In
this chapter we consider three basic approaches: grid-based methods, sampling
methods, and methods based on virtual potential fields.

Chapter 11: Robot Control

A robot arm can exhibit a number of di↵erent behaviors depending on the task
and its environment. It can act as a source of programmed motions for tasks
such as moving an object from one place to another, or tracing a trajectory for
manufacturing applications. It can act as a source of forces, for example when
grinding or polishing a workpiece. In tasks such as writing on a chalkboard, it
must control forces in some directions (the force pressing the chalk against the
board) and motions in other directions (the motion in the plane of the board).
In certain applications, e.g., haptic displays, we may want the robot to act like
a programmable spring, damper, or mass, by controlling its position, velocity,
or acceleration in response to forces applied to it.
In each of these cases, it is the job of the robot controller to convert the
task specification to forces and torques at the actuators. Control strategies to
achieve the behaviors described above are known as motion (or position) con-
trol, force control, hybrid motion–force control, and impedance con-
trol. Which of these behaviors is appropriate depends on both the task and

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Chapter 1. Preview 9

the environment. For example, a force-control goal makes sense when the end-
e↵ector is in contact with something, but not when it is moving in free space.
We also have a fundamental constraint imposed by the mechanics, irrespective
of the environment: the robot cannot independently control both motions and
forces in the same direction. If the robot imposes a motion then the environment
determines the force, and vice versa.
Most robots are driven by actuators that apply a force or torque to each
joint. Hence, precisely controlling a robot requires an understanding of the
relationship between the joint forces and torques and the motion of the robot;
this is the domain of dynamics. Even for simple robots, however, the dynamic
equations are complex and dependent on a precise knowledge of the mass and
inertia of each link, which may not be readily available. Even if it were, the
dynamic equations would still not reflect physical phenomena such as friction,
elasticity, backlash, and hysteresis.
Most practical control schemes compensate for these uncertainties by using
feedback control. After examining the performance limits of feedback control
without a dynamic model of the robot, we study motion control algorithms,
such as computed torque control, that combine approximate dynamic mod-
eling with feedback control. The basic lessons learned for robot motion control
are then applied to force control, hybrid motion–force control, and impedance
control.

Chapter 12: Grasping and Manipulation

The focus of earlier chapters is on characterizing, planning, and controlling the
motion of the robot itself. To do useful work, the robot must be capable of
manipulating objects in its environment. In this chapter we model the con-
tact between the robot and an object, specifically the constraints on the object
motion imposed by a contact and the forces that can be transmitted through a
frictional contact. With these models we study the problem of choosing contacts
to immobilize an object by form closure and force closure grasping. We also
apply contact modeling to manipulation problems other than grasping, such as
pushing an object, carrying an object dynamically, and testing the stability of
a structure.

Chapter 13: Wheeled Mobile Robots

The final chapter addresses the kinematics, motion planning, and control of
wheeled mobile robots and of wheeled mobile robots equipped with robot arms.
A mobile robot can use specially designed omniwheels or mecanum wheels

May 2017 preprint of Modern Robotics, Lynch and Park, Cambridge U. Press, 2017. http://modernrobotics.org
10

to achieve omnidirectional motion, including spinning in place or translating

in any direction. Many mobile bases, however, such as cars and di↵erential-
drive robots, use more typical wheels, which do not slip sideways. These no-slip
constraints are fundamentally di↵erent from the loop-closure constraints found
in closed chains; the latter are holonomic, meaning that they are configuration
constraints, while the former are nonholonomic, meaning that the velocity
constraints cannot be integrated to become equivalent configuration constraints.
Because of the di↵erent properties of omnidirectional mobile robots ver-
sus nonholonomic mobile robots, we consider their kinematic modeling, motion
planning, and control separately. In particular, the motion planning and con-
trol of nonholonomic mobile robots is more challenging than for omnidirectional
mobile robots.
Once we have derived their kinematic models, we show that the odometry
problem – the estimation of the chassis configuration based on wheel encoder
data – can be solved in the same way for both types of mobile robots. Similarly,
for mobile manipulators consisting of a wheeled base and a robot arm, we show
that feedback control for mobile manipulation (controlling the motion of the
end-e↵ector using the arm joints and wheels) is the same for both types of
mobile robots. The fundamental object in mobile manipulation is the Jacobian
mapping joint rates and wheel velocities to end-e↵ector twists.

Each chapter concludes with a summary of important concepts from the

chapter, and Appendix A compiles some of the most used equations into a handy
reference. Videos supporting the book can be found at the book’s website, http:
//modernrobotics.org. Some chapters have associated software, downloadable
from the website. The software is meant to be neither maximally robust nor
efficient but to be readable and to reinforce the concepts in the book. You are
encouraged to read the software, not just use it, to cement your understanding
of the material. Each function contains a sample usage in the comments. The
software package may grow over time, but the core functions are documented
in the chapters themselves.

May 2017 preprint of Modern Robotics, Lynch and Park, Cambridge U. Press, 2017. http://modernrobotics.org
Chapter 2

Configuration Space

A robot is mechanically constructed by connecting a set of bodies, called links,

to each other using various types of joints. Actuators, such as electric motors,
deliver forces or torques that cause the robot’s links to move. Usually an end-
e↵ector, such as a gripper or hand for grasping and manipulating objects, is
attached to a specific link. All the robots considered in this book have links
that can be modeled as rigid bodies.
Perhaps the most fundamental question one can ask about a robot is, where
is it? The answer is given by the robot’s configuration: a specification of the
positions of all points of the robot. Since the robot’s links are rigid and of a
known shape,1 only a few numbers are needed to represent its configuration.
For example, the configuration of a door can be represented by a single number,
the angle ✓ about its hinge. The configuration of a point on a plane can be
described by two coordinates, (x, y). The configuration of a coin lying heads
up on a flat table can be described by three coordinates: two coordinates (x, y)
that specify the location of a particular point on the coin, and one coordinate
(✓) that specifies the coin’s orientation. (See Figure 2.1).
The above coordinates all take values over a continuous range of real num-
bers. The number of degrees of freedom (dof) of a robot is the smallest
number of real-valued coordinates needed to represent its configuration. In the
example above, the door has one degree of freedom. The coin lying heads up
on a table has three degrees of freedom. Even if the coin could lie either heads
up or tails up, its configuration space still would have only three degrees of
freedom; a fourth variable, representing which side of the coin faces up, takes
values in the discrete set {heads, tails}, and not over a continuous range of real
1 Compare with trying to represent the configuration of a soft object like a pillow.

11
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Title: Pictographs of the North American Indians. A preliminary

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PICTOGRAPHS OF

THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. A PRELIMINARY PAPER ***
 Transcriber's Note

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illustrations.

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 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION—BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

PICTOGRAPHS
OF THE

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

A PRELIMINARY PAPER.

BY
GARRICK MALLERY.
 CONTENTS.
Page.
List of illustrations 7
Introductory 13
Distribution of petroglyphs in North America 19
Northeastern rock-carvings 19
Rock-carvings in Pennsylvania 20
in Ohio 21
in West Virginia 22
in the Southern States 22
in Iowa 23
in Minnesota 23
in Wyoming and Idaho 24
in Nevada 24
in Oregon and Washington Territory 25
in Utah 26
in Colorado 27
in New Mexico 28
in Arizona 28
in California 30
in Colored pictographs on rocks 33
Foreign petroglyphs 38
Petroglyphs in South America 38
in British Guiana 40
in Brazil 44
Pictographs in Peru 45
Objects represented in pictographs 46
Instruments used in pictography 48
Instruments for carving 48
for drawing 48
for painting 48
for tattooing 49
Colors and methods of application 50
In the United States 50
In British Guiana 53
Significance of colors 53
Materials upon which pictographs are made 58
Natural objects 58
Bone 59
Living tree 59
Wood 59
Bark 59
Skins 60
Feathers 60
Gourds 60
Horse-hair 60
Shells, including wampum 60
Earth and sand 60
The human person 61
Paint on the human person 61
Tattooing 63
Tattoo marks of the Haida Indians 66
Tattooing in the Pacific Islands 73
Artificial objects 78
Mnemonic 79
The quipu of the Peruvians 79
Notched sticks 81
Order of songs 82
Traditions 84
Treaties 86
 War 87
Time 88
The Dakota Winter Counts 89
The Corbusier Winter Counts 127
Notification 147
Notice of departure and direction 147
condition 152
Warning and guidance 155
Charts of geographic features 157
Claim or demand 159
Messages and communications 160
Record of expedition 164
Totemic 165
Tribal designations 165
Gentile or clan designations 167
Personal designations 168
Insignia or tokens of authority 168
Personal name 169
An Ogalala roster 174
Red-Cloud’s census 176
Property marks 182
Status of the individual 183
Signs of particular achievements 183
Religious 188
Mythic personages 188
Shamanism 190
Dances and ceremonies 194
Mortuary practices 197
Grave-posts 198
Charms and fetiches 201
Customs 203
Associations 203
Daily life and habits 205
Tribal history 207
Biographic 208
Continuous record of events in life 208
Particular exploits and events 214
Ideographs 219
Abstract ideas 219
Symbolism 221
Identification of the pictographers 224
General style or type 225
Presence of characteristic objects 230
Modes of interpretation 233
Homomorphs and symmorphs 239
Conventionalizing 244
Errors and frauds 247
Suggestions to collaborators 254
 ILLUSTRATIONS.
Plate Page.
I.—Colored pictographs in Santa Barbara County, California 34
II.—Colored pictographs in Santa Barbara County, California 35
III.—New Zealand tattooed heads 76
IV.—Ojibwa Meda song 82
V.—Penn wampum belt 87
VI.—Winter count on buffalo robe 89
VII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1786-’87 to 1792-’93 100
VIII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1793-’94 to 1799-1800 101
IX.—Dakota winter counts: for 1800-’01 to 1802-’03 103
X.—Dakota winter counts: for 1803-’04 to 1805-’06 104
XI.—Dakota winter counts: for 1806-’07 to 1808-’09 105
XII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1809-’10 to 1811-’12 106
XIII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1812-’13 to 1814-’15 108
XIV.—Dakota winter counts: for 1815-’16 to 1817-’18 109
XV.—Dakota winter counts: for 1818-’19 to 1820-’21 110
XVI.—Dakota winter counts: for 1821-’22 to 1823-’24 111
XVII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1824-’25 to 1826-’27 113
XVIII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1827-’28 to 1829-’30 114
XIX.—Dakota winter counts: for 1830-’31 to 1832-’33 115
XX.—Dakota winter counts: for 1833-’34 to 1835-’36 116
XXI.—Dakota winter counts: for 1836-’37 to 1838-’39 117
XXII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1839-’40 to 1841-’42 117
XXIII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1842-’43 to 1844-’45 118
XXIV.—Dakota winter counts: for 1845-’46 to 1847-’48 119
XXV.—Dakota winter counts: for 1848-’49 to 1850-’51 120
XXVI.—Dakota winter counts: for 1851-’52 to 1853-’54 120
XXVII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1854-’55 to 1856-’57 121
XXVIII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1857-’58 to 1859-’60 122
XXIX.—Dakota winter counts: for 1860-’61 to 1862-’63 123
XXX.—Dakota winter counts: for 1863-’64 to 1865-’66 124
XXXI.—Dakota winter counts: for 1866-’67 to 1868-’69 125
XXXII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1869-’70 to 1870-’71 126
XXXIII.—Dakota winter counts: for 1871-’72 to 1876-’77 127
XXXIV.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1775-’76 to 1780-’81 130
XXXV.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1781-’82 to 1786-’87 131
XXXVI.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1787-’88 to 1792-’93 132
XXXVII.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1793-’94 to 1798-’99 133
XXXVIII.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1799-1800 to 1804-’05 134
XXXIX.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1805-’06 to 1810-’11 134
XL.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1811-’12 to 1816-’17 135
XLI.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1817-’18 to 1822-’23 136
XLII.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1823-’24 to 1828-’29 137
XLIII.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1829-’30 to 1834-’35 138
XLIV.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1835-’36 to 1840-’41 139
XLV.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1841-’42 to 1846-’47 140
XLVI.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1847-’48 to 1852-’53 142
XLVII.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1853-’54 to 1858-’59 143
XLVIII.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1859-’60 to 1864-’65 143
XLIX.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1865-’66 to 1870-’71 144
L.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1871-’72 to 1876-’77 145
LI.—Corbusier winter counts: for 1877-’78 to 1878-’79 146
LII.—An Ogalala roster: Big-Road and band 174
LIII.—An Ogalala roster: Low-Dog and band 174
LIV.—An Ogalala roster: The Bear Spares-him and band 174
LV.—An Ogalala roster: Has a War-club and band 174
LVI.—An Ogalala roster: Wall-Dog and band 174
LVII.—An Ogalala roster: Iron-Crow and band 174
LVIII.—An Ogalala roster: Little-Hawk and band 174
LIX.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Cloud’s band 176
LX.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Cloud’s band 176
LXI.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Cloud’s band 176
LXII.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Cloud’s band 176
LXIII.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Cloud’s band 176
LXIV.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Cloud’s band 176
LXV.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Cloud’s band 176
LXVI.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Cloud’s band 176
LXVII.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Shirt’s band 176
LXVIII.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Shirt’s band 176
LXIX.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Shirt’s band 176
LXX.—Red-Cloud’s census: Black-Deer’s band 176
LXXI.—Red-Cloud’s census: Black-Deer’s band 176
LXXII.—Red-Cloud’s census: Black-Deer’s band 176
LXXIII.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Hawk’s band 176
LXXIV.—Red-Cloud’s census: Red-Hawk’s hand 176
LXXV.—Red-Cloud’s census: High-Wolf’s band 176
LXXVI.—Red-Cloud’s census: High-Wolf’s band 176
LXXVII.—Red-Cloud’s census: Gun’s band 176
LXXVIII.—Red-Cloud’s census: Gun’s band 176
LXXIX.—Red-Cloud’s census: Second Black-Deer’s band 176
LXXX.—Rock Painting in Azuza Cañon, California 156
LXXXI.—Moki masks etched on rocks. Arizona 194
LXXXII.—Buffalo-head monument 195
LXXXIII.—Ojibwa grave-posts 199

Figure 1.—Petroglyphs at Oakley Springs, Arizona 30

2.—Deep carvings in Guiana 42
3.—Shallow carvings in Guiana 43
4.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Beaver 47
5.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Bear 47
6.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Mountain sheep 47
7.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Three Wolf
47
heads
8.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Three Jackass
47
rabbits
9.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Cotton-tail
47
rabbit
10.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Bear tracks 47
11.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Eagle 47
12.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Eagle tails 47
13.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Turkey tail 47
14.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Horned toads 47
15.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Lizards 47
16.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Butterfly 47
17.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Snakes 47
18.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Rattlesnake 47
19.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Deer track 47
20.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Three Bird
47
tracks
21.—Rock etchings at Oakley Springs, Arizona: Bitterns 47
22.—Bronze head from the necropolis of Marzabotto, Italy 62
23.—Fragment of bowl from Troja 63
24.—Haida totem post, Queen Charlotte’s Island 68
25.—Haida man, tattooed 69
26.—Haida woman, tattooed 69
27.—Haida woman, tattooed 70
28.—Haida man, tattooed 70
29.—Skulpin (right leg of Fig. 26) 71
30.—Frog (left leg of Fig. 26) 71
31.—Cod (breast of Fig. 25) 71
32.—Squid (Octopus), (thighs of Fig. 25) 71
33.—Wolf, enlarged (back of Fig. 28) 71
34.—Tattoo designs on bone, from New Zealand 74
35.—New Zealand tattooed head and chin mark 75
36.—New Zealand tattooed woman 75
37.—Australian grave and carved trees 76
38.—Osage chart 86
39.—Device denoting succession of time. Dakota 88
40.—Device denoting succession of time. Dakota 89
41.—Measles or Smallpox. Dakota 110
42.—Meteor. Dakota 111
43.—River freshet. Dakota 113
44.—Meteoric shower. Dakota 116
45.—The-Teal-broke-his-leg. Dakota 119
46.—Magic Arrow. Dakota 141
47.—Notice of hunt. Alaska 147
48.—Notice of departure. Alaska 148
49.—Notice of hunt. Alaska 149
50.—Notice of direction. Alaska 149
51.—Notice of direction. Alaska 150
52.—Notice of direction. Alaska 150
53.—Notice of distress. Alaska 152
54.—Notice of departure and refuge. Alaska 152
55.—Notice of departure to relieve distress. Alaska 153
56.—Ammunition wanted. Alaska 154
57.—Assistance wanted in hunt. Alaska 154
58.—Starving hunters. Alaska 154
59.—Starving hunters. Alaska 155
60.—Lean Wolf’s map. Hidatsa 158
61.—Letter to “Little-man” from his father. Cheyenne 160
62.—Drawing of smoke signal. Alaska 161
63.—Tesuque Diplomatic Packet 162
64.—Tesuque Diplomatic Packet 162
65.—Tesuque Diplomatic Packet 162
66.—Tesuque Diplomatic Packet 163
67.—Tesuque Diplomatic Packet 163
68.—Dakota pictograph: for Kaiowa 165
69.—Dakota pictograph: for Arikara 166
70.—Dakota pictograph: for Omaha 166
71.—Dakota pictograph: for Pawnee 166
72.—Dakota pictograph: for Assiniboine 166
73.—Dakota pictograph: for Gros Ventre 166
74.—Lean-Wolf as “Partisan” 168
75.—Two-Strike as “Partisan” 169
76.—Lean-Wolf (personal name) 172
77.—Pointer. Dakota 172
78.—Shadow. Dakota 173
79.—Loud-Talker. Dakota 173
80.—Boat Paddle. Arikara 182
81.—African property mark 182
82.—Hidatsa feather marks: First to strike enemy 184
83.—Hidatsa feather marks: Second to strike enemy 184
84.—Hidatsa feather marks: Third to strike enemy 184
85.—Hidatsa feather marks: Fourth to strike enemy 184
86.—Hidatsa feather marks: Wounded by an enemy 184
87.—Hidatsa feather marks: Killed a woman 184
88.—Dakota feather marks: Killed an enemy 185
89.—Dakota feather marks: Cut throat and scalped 185
90.—Dakota feather marks: Cut enemy’s throat 185
91.—Dakota feather marks: Third to strike 185
92.—Dakota feather marks: Fourth to strike 185
93.—Dakota feather marks: Fifth to strike 185
94.—Dakota feather marks: Many wounds 185
95.—Successful defense. Hidatsa, etc. 186
96.—Two successful defenses. Hidatsa, etc. 186
97.—Captured a horse. Hidatsa, etc. 186
98.—First to strike an enemy. Hidatsa 187
99.—Second to strike an enemy. Hidatsa 187
100.—Third to strike an enemy. Hidatsa 187
101.—Fourth to strike an enemy. Hidatsa 187
102.—Fifth to strike an enemy. Arikara 187
103.—Struck four enemies. Hidatsa 187
104.—Thunder bird. Dakota 188
105.—Thunder bird. Dakota 188
106.—Thunder bird (wingless). Dakota 189
107.—Thunder bird (in beads). Dakota 189
108.—Thunder bird. Haida 190
109.—Thunder bird. Twana 190
110.—Ivory record, Shaman exorcising demon. Alaska 191
111.—Ivory record, Supplication for success. Alaska 192
111a.—Shaman’s Lodge. Alaska 196
112.—Alaska votive offering 197
113.—Alaska grave-post 198
114.—Alaska grave-post 199
115.—Alaska village and burial grounds 199
116.—New Zealand grave effigy 200
117.—New Zealand grave-post 201
118.—New Zealand house posts 201
119.—Mdewakantawan fetich 202
120.—Ottawa pipe-stem 204
121.—Walrus hunter. Alaska 205
122.—Alaska carving with records 205
123.—Origin of Brulé. Dakota 207
124.—Running Antelope: Killed one Arikara 208
125.—Running Antelope: Shot and scalped an Arikara 209
126.—Running Antelope: Shot an Arikara 209
127.—Running Antelope: Killed two warriors 210
128.—Running Antelope: Killed ten men and three women 210
129.—Running Antelope: Killed two chiefs 211
130.—Running Antelope: Killed one Arikara 211
131.—Running Antelope: Killed one Arikara 212
132.—Running Antelope: Killed two Arikara hunters 212
133.—Running Antelope: Killed five Arikara 213
134.—Running Antelope: Killed an Arikara 213
135.—Record of hunt. Alaska 214
136.—Shoshoni horse raid 215
137.—Drawing on buffalo shoulder-blade. Camanche 216
138.—Cross-Bear’s death 217
139.—Bark record from Red Lake, Minnesota 218
140.—Sign for pipe. Dakota 219
141.—Plenty buffalo meat. Dakota 219
142.—Plenty buffalo meat. Dakota 220
143.—Pictograph for Trade. Dakota 220
144.—Starvation. Dakota 220
145.—Starvation. Ottawa and Pottawatomi 221
146.—Pain. Died of “Whistle.” Dakota 221
147.—Example of Algonkian petroglyphs, from Millsborough,
224
Pennsylvania
148.—Example of Algonkian petroglyphs, from Hamilton Farm,
225
West Virginia
149.—Example of Algonkian petroglyphs, from Safe Harbor,
226
Pennsylvania
150.—Example of Western Algonkian petroglyphs, from
227
Wyoming
151.—Example of Shoshonian petroglyphs, from Idaho 228
152.—Example of Shoshonian petroglyphs, from Idaho 229
153.—Example of Shoshonian petroglyphs, from Utah 230
154.—Example of Shoshonian rock painting, from Utah 230
155.—Rock painting, from Tule River, California 235
156.—Sacred inclosure from Arizona. Moki 237
157.—Ceremonial head-dress. Moki 237
158.—Houses. Moki 237
159.—Burden-sticks. Moki 238
160.—Arrows. Moki 238
161.—Blossoms. Moki 238
162.—Lightning. Moki 238
163.—Clouds. Moki 238
164.—Clouds with rain. Moki 238
165.—Stars, Moki 238
166.—Sun. Moki 239
167.—Sunrise. Moki, 239
168.—Drawing of Dakota lodges, by Hidatsa 240
169.—Drawing of earth lodges, by Hidatsa 240
170.—Drawing of white man’s house, by Hidatsa 240
171.—Hidatsati, the home of the Hidatsa 240
172.—Horses and man. Arikara 240
173.—Dead man. Arikara 240
174.—Second to strike enemy. Hidatsa 240
175.—Third to strike enemy. Hidatsa 240
176.—Scalp taken. Hidatsa 240
177.—Enemy struck and gun captured. Hidatsa 240
178.—Mendota drawing. Dakota 241
179.—Symbol of war. Dakota 241
180.—Captives. Dakota 242
181.—Circle of men. Dakota 242
182.—Shooting from river banks. Dakota 242
183.—Panther. Haida 242
184.—Wolf head. Haida 243
185.—Drawings on an African knife 243
186.—Conventional characters: Men. Arikara 244
187.—Conventional characters: Man. Innuit 244
188.—Conventional characters: Dead man. Satsika 244
189.—Conventional characters: Man addressed. Innuit 244
190.—Conventional characters: Man. Innuit 244
191.—Conventional characters: Man. From Tule River,
244
California
192.—Conventional characters: Man. From Tule River,
244
California
193.—Conventional characters: Disabled man. Ojibwa 244
194.—Conventional characters: Shaman. Innuit 245
195.—Conventional characters: Supplication. Innuit 245
196.—Conventional characters: Man. Ojibwa 245
197.—Conventional characters: Spiritually enlightened man.
245
Ojibwa
198.—Conventional characters: A wabeno. Ojibwa 245
199.—Conventional characters: An evil Meda. Ojibwa 245
200.—Conventional characters: A Meda. Ojibwa 245
201.—Conventional characters: Man. Hidatsa 245
202.—Conventional characters: Headless body. Ojibwa 245
203.—Conventional characters: Headless body. Ojibwa 245
204.—Conventional characters: Man. Moki 245
205.—Conventional characters: Man. From Siberia 245
206.—Conventional characters: Superior knowledge. Ojibwa 246
207.—Conventional characters: An American. Ojibwa 246
208.—Specimen of imitated pictograph 249
209.—Symbols of cross 252
 ON THE PICTOGRAPHS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN
INDIANS.

By Garrick Mallery.

INTRODUCTORY.
A pictograph is a writing by picture. It conveys and records an idea
or occurrence by graphic means without the use of words or letters.
The execution of the pictures of which it is composed often exhibits
the first crude efforts of graphic art, and their study in that relation
is of value. When pictures are employed as writing the conception
intended to be presented is generally analyzed, and only its most
essential points are indicated, with the result that the characters
when frequently repeated become conventional, and in their later
forms cease to be recognizable as objective portraitures. This
exhibition of conventionalizing also has its own import in the history
of art.
Pictographs are considered in the present paper chiefly in reference
to their significance as one form of thought-writing directly
addressed to the sight, gesture-language being the other and
probably earlier form. So far as they are true ideographs they are
the permanent, direct, visible expression of ideas of which gesture-
language gives the transient expression. When adopted for
syllabaries or alphabets, which is known to be the historical course
of evolution in that regard, they have ceased to be the direct and
have become the indirect expression of the ideas framed in oral
speech. The writing common in civilization records sounds directly,
not primarily thoughts, the latter having first been translated into
sounds. The trace of pictographs in the latter use shows the earlier
and predominant conceptions.
The importance of the study of pictographs depends upon their
examination as a phase in the evolution of human culture, or as
containing valuable information to be ascertained by interpretation.
The invention of alphabetic writing being by general admission the
great step marking the change from barbarism into civilization, the
history of its earlier development must be valuable. It is inferred
from internal evidence that picture-writing preceded and originated
the graphic systems of Egypt, Nineveh, and China, but in North
America its use is still modern and current. It can be studied there,
without any requirement of inference or hypothesis, in actual
existence as applied to records and communications. Furthermore,
its transition into signs of sound is apparent in the Aztec and the
Maya characters, in which stage it was only arrested by foreign
conquest. The earliest lessons of the birth and growth of culture in
this most important branch of investigation can therefore be best
learned from the Western Hemisphere. In this connection it may be
noticed that picture-writing is found in sustained vigor on the same
continent where sign-language has prevailed or continued in active
operation to an extent unknown in other parts of the world. These
modes of expression, i. e., transient and permanent idea-writing, are
so correlated in their origin and development that neither can be
studied with advantage to the exclusion of the other.
The limits assigned to this paper allow only of its comprehending the
Indians north of Mexico, except as the pictographs of other peoples
are introduced for comparison. Among these no discovery has yet
been made of any of the several devices, such as the rebus, or the
initial, adopted elsewhere, by which the element of sound apart from
significance has been introduced.
The first stage of picture-writing as recognized among the Egyptians
was the representation of a material object in such style or
connection as determined it not to be a mere portraiture of that
object, but figurative of some other object or person. This stage is
abundantly exhibited among the Indians. Indeed, their personal and
tribal names thus objectively represented constitute the largest part
of their picture-writing so far thoroughly understood.
The second step gained by the Egyptians was when the picture
became used as a symbol of some quality or characteristic. It can be
readily seen how a hawk with bright eye and lofty flight might be
selected as a symbol of divinity and royalty, and that the crocodile
should denote darkness, while a slightly further step in metaphysical
symbolism made the ostrich feather, from the equality of its
filaments, typical of truth. It is evident from examples given in the
present paper that the North American tribes at the time of the
Columbian discovery had entered upon this second step of picture-
writing, though with marked inequality between tribes and regions in
advance therein. None of them appear to have reached such
proficiency in the expression of connected ideas by picture as is
shown in the sign-language existing among some of them, in which
even conjunctions and prepositions are indicated. Still many truly
ideographic pictures are known.
A consideration relative to the antiquity of mystic symbolism, and its
position in the several culture-periods, arises in this connection. It
appears to have been an outgrowth of human thought, perhaps in
the nature of an excrescence, useful for a time, but abandoned after
a certain stage of advancement.
A criticism has been made on the whole subject of pictography by
Dr. Richard Andree, who, in his work, Ethnographische Parallelen und
Vergleiche, Stuttgart, 1878, has described and figured a large
number of examples of petroglyphs, a name given by him to rock-
drawings and adopted by the present writer. His view appears to be
that these figures are frequently the idle marks which, among
civilized people, boys or ignorant persons cut with their pen-knives
on the desks and walls of school-rooms, or scrawl on the walls of
lanes and retired places. From this criticism, however, Dr. Andree
carefully excludes the pictographs of the North American Indians, his
conclusion being that those found in other parts of the world
generally occupy a transition stage lower than that conceded for the
Indians. It is possible that significance may yet be ascertained in
many of the characters found in other regions, and perhaps this may
be aided by the study of those in North America; but no doubt
should exist that the latter have purpose and meaning. Any attempt
at the relegation of such pictographs as are described in the present
paper, and have been the subject of the study of the present writer,
to any trivial origin can be met by a thorough knowledge of the labor
and pains which were necessary in the production of some of the
petroglyphs described.
All criticism in question with regard to the actual significance of
North American pictographs is still better met by their practical use
by historic Indians for important purposes, as important to them as
the art of writing, of which the present paper presents a large
number of conclusive examples. It is also known that when they
now make pictographs it is generally done with intention and
significance.
Even when this work is undertaken to supply the demand for painted
robes as articles of trade it is a serious manufacture, though
sometimes imitative in character and not intrinsically significant. All
other instances known in which pictures are made without original
design, as indicated under the several classifications of this paper,
are when they are purely ornamental; but in such cases they are
often elaborate and artistic, never the idle scrawls above mentioned.
A main object of this paper is to call attention to the subject in other
parts of the world, and to ascertain whether the practice of
pictography does not still exist in some corresponding manner
beyond what is now published.
A general deduction made after several years of study of pictographs
of all kinds found among the North American Indians is that they
exhibit very little trace of mysticism or of esotericism in any form.
They are objective representations, and cannot be treated as ciphers
or cryptographs in any attempt at their interpretation. A knowledge
of the customs, costumes, including arrangement of hair, paint, and
all tribal designations, and of their histories and traditions is
essential to the understanding of their drawings, for which reason
some of those particulars known to have influenced pictography are
set forth in this paper, and others are suggested which possibly had
a similar influence.
Comparatively few of their picture signs have become merely
conventional. A still smaller proportion are either symbolical or
emblematic, but some of these are noted. By far the larger part of
them are merely mnemonic records and are treated of in connection
with material objects formerly and, perhaps, still used mnemonically.
It is believed that the interpretation of the ancient forms is to be
obtained, if at all, not by the discovery of any hermeneutic key, but
by an understanding of the modern forms, some of which
fortunately can be interpreted by living men; and when this is not
the case the more recent forms can be made intelligible at least in
part by thorough knowledge of the historic tribes, including their
sociology, philosophy, and arts, such as is now becoming acquired,
and of their sign-language.
It is not believed that any considerable information of value in an
historical point of view will be obtained directly from the
interpretation of the pictographs in North America. The only pictures
which can be of great antiquity are rock-carvings and those in shell
or similar substances resisting the action of time, which have been
or may be found in mounds. The greater part of those already
known are simply peckings, etchings, or paintings delineating natural
objects, very often animals, and illustrate the beginning of pictorial
art. It is, however, probable that others were intended to
commemorate events or to represent ideas entertained by their
authors, but the events which to them were of moment are of little
importance as history. They referred generally to some insignificant
fight or some season of plenty or of famine, or to other
circumstances the evident consequence of which has long ceased.
While, however, it is not supposed that old inscriptions exist directly
recording substantively important events, it is hoped that some
materials for history can be gathered from the characters in a
manner similar to the triumph of comparative philology in
resurrecting the life-history and culture of the ancient Aryans. The
significance of the characters being granted, they exhibit what
chiefly interested their authors, and those particulars may be of
anthropologic consequence. The study has so far advanced that,
independent of the significance of individual characters, several
distinct types of execution are noted which may be expected to
disclose data regarding priscan habitat and migration. In this
connection it may be mentioned that recent discoveries render it
probable that some of the pictographs were intended as guide-
marks to point out trails, springs, and fords, and some others are
supposed to indicate at least the locality of mounds and graves, and
possibly to record specific statements concerning them. A
comparison of typical forms may also usefully be made with the
objects of art now exhumed in large numbers from the mounds.
Ample evidence exists that many of the pictographs, both ancient
and modern, are connected with the mythology and religious
practices of their makers. The interpretations obtained during the
present year of some of those among the Moki, Zuñi, and Navajo,
throw new and strong light on this subject. It is regretted that the
most valuable and novel part of this information cannot be included
in the present paper, as it is in the possession of the Bureau of
Ethnology in a shape not yet arranged for publication, or forms part
of the forthcoming volume of the Transactions of the Anthropological
Society of Washington, which may not be anticipated.
The following general remarks of Schoolcraft, Vol. I, p. 351, are of
some value, though they apply with any accuracy only to the Ojibwa
and are tinctured with a fondness for the mysterious:
 For their pictographic devices the North American Indians
have two terms, namely, Kekeewin, or such things as are
generally understood by the tribe; and Kekeenowin, or
teachings of the medas or priests, jossakeeds or prophets.
The knowledge of the latter is chiefly confined to persons
who are versed in their system of magic medicine, or their
religion, and may be deemed hieratic. The former consists
of the common figurative signs, such as are employed at
places of sepulture, or by hunting or traveling parties. It is
also employed in the muzzinábiks, or rock-writings. Many
of the figures are common to both, and are seen in the
drawings generally; but it is to be understood that this
results from the figure-alphabet being precisely the same
in both, while the devices of the nugamoons, or medicine,
wabino, hunting, and war songs, are known solely to the
initiates who have learned them, and who always pay high
to the native professors for this knowledge.
It must, however, be admitted, as above suggested, that many of
the pictographs found are not of the historic or mythologic
significance once supposed. For instance, the examination of the
rock carvings in several parts of the country has shown that some of
them were mere records of the visits of individuals to important
springs or to fords on regularly established trails. In this respect
there seems to have been, in the intention of the Indians, very much
the same spirit as induces the civilized man to record his initials
upon objects in the neighborhood of places of general resort. At
Oakley Springs, Arizona Territory, totemic marks have been found,
evidently made by the same individual at successive visits, showing
that on the number of occasions indicated he had passed by those
springs, probably camping there, and such record was the habit of
the neighboring Indians at that time. The same repetition of totemic
names has been found in great numbers in the pipestone quarries of
Dakota, and also at some old fords in West Virginia. But these
totemic marks are so designed and executed as to have intrinsic
significance and value, wholly different in this respect from vulgar
names in alphabetic form. It should also be remembered that mere
graffiti are recognized as of value by the historian, the
anthropologist, and the artist.
One very marked peculiarity of the drawings of the Indians is that
within each particular system, such as may be called a tribal system,
of pictography, every Indian draws in precisely the same manner.
The figures of a man, of a horse, and of every other object
delineated, are made by every one who attempts to make any such
figure with all the identity of which their mechanical skill is capable,
thus showing their conception and motive to be the same.
The intention of the present work is not to present at this time a
view of the whole subject of pictography, though the writer has been
preparing materials with a reference to that more ambitious project.
The paper is limited to the presentation of the most important
known pictographs of the North American Indians, with such
classification as has been found convenient to the writer, and, for
that reason, may be so to collaborators. The scheme of the paper
has been to give very simply one or more examples, with
illustrations, in connection with each one of the headings or titles of
the classifications designated. This plan has involved a considerable
amount of cross reference, because, in many cases, a character, or a
group of characters, could be considered with reference to a number
of noticeable characteristics, and it was a question of choice under
which one of the headings it should be presented, involving
reference to it from the other divisions of the paper. An amount of
space disproportionate to the mere subdivision of Time under the
class of Mnemonics, is occupied by the Dakota Winter Counts, but it
is not believed that any apology is necessary for their full
presentation, as they not only exhibit the device mentioned in
reference to their use as calendars, but furnish a repertory for all
points connected with the graphic portrayal of ideas.
Attention is invited to the employment of the heraldic scheme of
designating colors by lines, dots, etc., in those instances in the
illustrations where color appeared to have significance, while it was
not practicable to produce the coloration of the originals. In many
cases, however, the figures are too minute to permit the successful
use of that scheme, and the text must be referred to for explanation.
Thanks are due and rendered for valuable assistance to
correspondents and especially to officers of the Bureau of Ethnology
and the United States Geological Survey, whose names are generally
mentioned in connection with their several contributions.
Acknowledgment is also made now and throughout the paper to Dr.
W. J. Hoffman who has officially assisted the present writer during
several years by researches in the field, and by drawing nearly all
the illustrations presented.
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