Inverse Kinematics


An introduction: There are various methods which can be used to animate human motion. There are two main methods which are used extensively in robotics namely KINEMATICS and DYNAMICS. Kinematics is the science of motion without regard to forces affecting it. Its only concern is the position,velocity and acceleration relative to time. Kinematics is further divided into forward and Inverse kinematics(IK). Forward Kinematics is where the angles for each joint are given and the position and orientation of the end-effector e.g. hand is calculated. Inverse Kinematics is where the position and orientation of the end-effector is given and we solve for the angles of each joint.


Three main methods for solving Inv.Kinematics:

* Algebraic

* Geometric

* Iterative


From the implementation point of view, algebraic closed-form solutions are supposed to be the most computationally least-intensive of all and has been used in the thesis work of this Curtin University student.


Look at the Human Arm Animator Applet using algebraic Inverse Kinematics solutions