Dual redundant arm configuration optimization with task-oriented dual arm manipulability

It is shown that the required motion and force trajectories of a given task can be abstracted by a series of desired manipulability ellipsoids, and that a task-oriented dual-arm manipulability measure (TODAMM) can be mathematically defined by quantifying how the manipulability of one arm affects the other and measuring the geometrical closeness between the desired and the actual manipulability ellipsoids. TODAMM can be used in the optimization of dual-arm joint configurations. The task-oriented manipulability measure developed can also be used in the joint configuration optimization of a single arm, providing efficient joint configurations in terms of joint motions and joint torques for the required Cartesian motions and static forces. The dual-arm joint configuration optimization based on TODAMM can be applied to a variety of tasks which require dual-arm cooperation.