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A Trajectory planning method for a mobile manipulator is proposed in this paper. The mobile manipulator studied here consists of a mobile platform and a redundant manipulator. Since the system has the redundant degree of freedom to perform some tasks, it will have infinite configurations to make the end-effector track the desired trajectory. The concept of AMSI and AMSIP which were used to optimize the avoidance ability for redundant manipulator is extended to carry out the trajectory planning in this paper. We firstly predefine the trajectory of the mobile platform and stop it at a certain position defined by AMSI where allows the manipulator to reach all the desired points on the trajectory, then optimize the configuration of the manipulator according to AMSI and AMSIP to realize the whole trajectory planning task. The experiments are performed by the mobile manipulator in real environment.

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Flexible driving is essential in enhancing security during human-robot interactions and improving the adaptability of robots to complex environments. Based on these principles, we developed a variable stiffness actuator with automatic rigidity/ compliance switching. The actuator contains two motors-one for position control and the other for adjusting the stiffness. The stiffness adjustment motor independently alters stiffness through regulating the distance between the output shaft and the spring sliders. The function of automatic rigidity/compliance switching is realized through turning four electromagnets on or off to make sucker up or down. We set up an experimental platform to verify the automatic switching function for rigid and compliant characteristics. Results showed that the actuator can cover a wide range of stiffness and provide reliable rigidity/compliance switching.