Trajectory planning of robotic pipe cutting and handling

Abstract

This study presents a piece-wise, seventh-order polynomial trajectory planningmethodforrobotic manipulators in complex 3D environments, based on a differential evolutionalgorithm. Compared with conventional quintic polynomial methods, the proposedapproach introduces additional 2 variables, enabling improved trajectory flexibilityandoptimization capability. A multi-objective function incorporating path length, minimizationof jerk and trajectory continuity is formulated to balance efficiency andtrajectorysmoothness. Simulation results show that the method can generate smooth, collision-freetrajectories, achieving better performance in terms of jerk reduction and obstacle avoidancethan quintic polynomial methods.

To assist the handling process, an end effector (gripper) was designed, the threaddrivenmoving plate can complete the task efficiently. It can hold the pipe or wire of diameterfrom 2cm to 5cm. The structure can also avoid the axial movement due to its thefixeddesign. There are also sufficient safety margin to withstand the variable force upto1500N.