El-Minya High Institute

Mechanical Engineering Department-Mechatronics

Forward kinematics
Dr. Ahmed Rashed Ahmed
 A manipulator may be thought of as a set of bodies
connected in a chain by joints. These bodies are called
links. Joints form a connection between a neighboring pair
of links.
A link is considered only as a rigid body that defines the
relationship between two neighboring joint axes of a
manipulator.

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 End Effector
Links

Joints 2 DOF’s

Robot Basis
Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department
Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Kinematics is the science of motion that treats the subject
without regard to the forces that cause it. Within the science of
kinematics, one studies the position, the velocity, the
acceleration, and all higher order derivatives of the position
variables (with respect to time or any other variables). Hence,
the study of the kinematics of manipulators refers to all the
geometrical and time-based properties of the motion.

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 For any two axes in 3-space,
The relation between two coordinates frames has 6 parameters
3 translation and 3 rational
The distance is measured along a line that is
mutually perpendicular to both axes is called
the link length The second parameter needed
to define the relative location of the two axes
is called the link twist.
One parameter of interconnection has to do
with the distance along this common axis
from one link to the next is called the link
offset. The second parameter describes the
amount of rotation about this common axis
between one link and its neighbor. This is
called the joint angle
Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department
Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Right Hand Rule

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Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Rotate about vector

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Example

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Example

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Example

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Example

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Example

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Forward Kinematics
Determines where the robot hand is [all joints variables are known]
Given : length of each link, angle of each joint
Required : .Position of any point [its (x, y, z) coordinates]
Inverse Kinematics
Calculate what each joints variables is [ If we desire that hand be located]
Given : length of each link, position of some points on the robot
Required : .The angles of each joint needed to obtain that position

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Forward Kinematics
Geometric Approach
This method is suitable for simple examples
(like 2-D condition)
But for robots with more links and this links
moves into 3-D coordinates, the geometric
approach has more difficulties

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 Algebraic Approach
Involves coordinate transformations

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 The definition of mechanisms by means of these quantities is a convention
usually called the Denavit—Hartenberg notation

Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department

Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department
Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 DENAVIT-HARTENBERG
REPRESENTATION
Procedures for assigning a local reference frame to each joint:
1. ‫ ٭‬All joints are represented by a z-axis.
• (right-hand rule for rotational joint, linear movement for
prismatic joint)
2. The common normal is one line mutually perpendicular to any
two skew lines.
3. Parallel z-axes joints make a infinite number of common nor-
mal.
4. Intersecting z-axes of two successive joints make no common
Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department
Faculty of Engineering - Minia University
 The Denavit - Hartenberg
Matrix
 cosθ i  sinθ i 0 a(i 1) 
sinθ cosα cosθ i cosα (i 1)  sinα (i 1)  sinα (i 1)d i 
 i (i 1)

 sinθ i sinα (i 1) cosθ i sinα (i 1) cosα (i 1) cosα (i 1)d i 
 
 0 0 0 1 

Just like the Homogeneous Matrix, the Denavit-Hartenberg Matrix is

a transformation matrix from one coordinate frame to the next. Using
a series of D-H Matrix multiplications and the D-H Parameter table,
the final result is a transformation matrix from some frame to your
initial frame.
Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department
Faculty of Engineering - Minia University