Manipulator Jacobian from the elementary transform sequence
2018 · 7 pages · 245 kB
How to compute a serial-link manipulator's Jacobian directly from its elementary transform sequence (ETS), without first converting to Denavit-Hartenberg parameters.
Articles and notes
Short technical notes, tutorials and derivations.
SLAM EKF: the insertion Jacobian
2018 · 3 pages · 138 kB
Derives the Jacobian needed to extend the EKF state vector when a new landmark is discovered, for both the map-making and the full SLAM cases.
Solving trigonometric equations
2018 · 4 pages · 157 kB
Several ways to solve the equation a cos θ + b sin θ = c, which turns up again and again in inverse kinematics.
Also: MATLAB live script (5 kB)
Understanding URDF using MATLAB
2018 · 18 pages · 789 kB
A readable tutorial on the Universal Robot Description Format (URDF) used across ROS, starting from XML basics and working through examples in MATLAB.
Also: example files (12 kB)
Parsing XML using MATLAB
2018 · 8 pages · 112 kB
A tutorial on XML and on MATLAB's built-in support for parsing it, filling gaps in the official documentation.
Also: example files (6 kB)
Precision-recall curves
2016 · 6 pages · 185 kB
A tutorial introduction to binary classifiers, the confusion matrix, and how precision-recall curves are constructed and interpreted.
The bones of Descartes
2015 · 8 pages · 386 kB
A chronology of what happened to René Descartes' remains after his death in Stockholm in 1650, summarised from Russell Shorto's book Descartes' Bones.
Denavit-Hartenberg notation for common robots
2014 · 14 pages · 392 kB
The physical meaning of Denavit-Hartenberg parameters for common robot arm configurations, with consistent diagrams and parameter tables.
4 is harder than 6: inverse kinematics for underactuated robots
2014 · 6 pages · 926 kB
Why inverse kinematics for a 4-joint hobby robot is harder than for a 6-joint industrial arm, and how to solve it with the Robotics Toolbox for MATLAB.
Using the Robotics Toolbox with a real robot
2013 · 9 pages · 890 kB
How to connect an inexpensive hobby-class robot arm (the PhantomX) to the Robotics Toolbox for MATLAB and drive it from the Toolbox.
Books and book resources
Out-of-print books and supporting material for Robotics, Vision & Control.
Robotics, Vision & Control (2nd edition): solutions manual
2017 · 95 pages · 941 kB
Worked solutions to the exercises in Robotics, Vision & Control, second edition.
Also: MATLAB live scripts · figures (EPS) · figures (SVG)
Visual Control of Robots: High-Performance Visual Servoing
1996 · 378 pages · 3.1 MB
The 'Blue Book': a monograph on high-performance visual servo control of robot manipulators, from the CSIRO Division of Manufacturing Technology. Out of print, free to download.
Papers and technical reports
Conference papers and technical reports.
Not your grandmother's toolbox: the Robotics Toolbox reinvented for Python
2021 · 7 pages · 587 kB
ICRA 2021 paper describing the Robotics Toolbox for Python, the successor to the Robotics Toolbox for MATLAB, and how it builds on open-source tools for portability, 3D graphics and documentation.
The Unimation Puma servo system
CSIRO Division of Manufacturing Technology · MTM-226 · 1994 · 54 pages · 27.2 MB
A detailed technical description of the Puma 560 robot's digital servo system: the arm interface board, servo card hardware and firmware, and the axis electromechanical dynamics. Scanned.
Historical documents
Reports and documents of historical interest in robotics.
Modelling, trajectory calculation and servoing of a computer controlled arm
Stanford AI Lab · AIM-177 (STAN-CS-72-311) · 1972 · 96 pages · 8.7 MB
Richard Paul's 1972 Stanford AI Laboratory report (AIM-177), a foundational work on manipulator kinematics, trajectory generation and servo control. Scanned NTIS copy.
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited (NTIS)