Estimation algorithms of the model parameters of robotic manipulators

The dynamic equations of robotic manipulators can be derived from either Newton-Euler equation or Lagrangian equation. Model parameters which appear in the resulting dynamic equation are the nonlinear functions of both the inertial parameters and the geometric parameters of robotic manipulators. The identification of the model parameters is important for advanced robot control. In the previous methods for the identification of the model parameters, the geometric parameters are required to be predetermined, or the robotic manipulators are required to follow some special motions. In this paper, we propose an approach to the identification of the model parameters, in which prior knowledge of the geometric parameters is not necessary. We show that the estimation equation for the model parameters can be formulated in an upper block triangular form. Utilizing the special structures, we obtain a simplified least-square estimation algorithm for the model parameter identification. To illustrate the practical use of our method, a 4DOF SCARA robot is examined.