Forward kinematics

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Foward kinematics is the process of relating a systems pose to the position and orientation of the end effector. It is widley used in robotics, computer games, and animation. (See: Forward kinematic animation)

Forward kinematics can be considered as the inverse of inverse kinematics. Inverse kinematics is the process of determining the parameters of a jointed flexible object (a kinematic chain) in order to achieve a desired pose. Where inverse kinematics is used to determine the behaviors of the joints for a certain pose, forward kinematics is used to determine the pose which results from behaviors of the joints.

Mathematically stated the problem is simple:

Given θ_0..n what is the cartesian (e.g.: x, y, z) position of the end effector? where n is the number of links in the system, and θ is the angle of the link.

In pseudo-code this would be:

for i=1:n

t = t * local_link_transfomation_matrix[i];

end

where t is the final transformation matrix representing the end effector position.

In robotics Denavit and Hartenberg parameters are often used for solving kinematic problems ^[1].

[edit] References

first column, Forward kinematics not Foward kinematics, and a system nor system, not a systems

[edit] See also

• Inverse kinematics
• Forward kinematic animation