This paper presents methods for finding optimal configurations and actuator forces/torques to maximise contact wrenches in a desired direction for Underwater Vehicles Manipulator Systems (UVMS). The wrench maximisation problem is formulated as a linear programming problem, and the optimal configuration is solved as a bi-level optimisation in the parameterised redundancy space. We additionally consider the cases of one or more manipulators with multiple contact forces, maximising wrench capability while tracking a trajectory, and generating large wrench impulses using dynamic motions. We look at the specific cases of maximising force to lift a heavy load, and maximising torque during a valve turning operation. Extensive experimental results are presented using an underwater robotic platform equipped with a 4DOF manipulator, and show significant increases in wrench capability compared to existing methods for UVMS.
@article{arxiv.2202.13535,
title = {Maximising Wrenches for Kinematically Redundant Systems with Experiments on UVMS},
author = {Wilhelm Johan Marais and Stefan B. Williams and Oscar Pizarro},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2202.13535},
year = {2022}
}