What Is Inverse Kinematics?
Kinematics is the science of motion. In a two-joint robotic arm, given the angles of the joints, the kinematics equations give the location of the tip of the arm. Inverse kinematics refers to the reverse process. Given a desired location for the tip of the robotic arm, what should the angles of the joints be so as to locate the tip of the arm at the desired location. There is usually more than one solution and can at times be a difficult problem to solve. This is a typical problem in robotics that needs to be solved to control a robotic arm to perform tasks it is designated to do. In a 2-dimensional input space, with a two-joint robotic arm and given the desired co-ordinate, the problem reduces to finding the two angles involved. The first angle is between the first arm and the ground (or whatever it is attached to). The second angle is between the first arm and the second arm.
