A method of estimating the mass, the location of center of mass, and the moments of inertia of each rigid body link of a robot during general manipulator movement is presented. The algorithm is derived from the Newton-Euler equations, and uses measurements of the joint torques as well as the measurement and calculation of the kinematics of the manipulator while it is moving. The identification equations are linear in the desired unknown parameters, and a modified least squares algorithm is used to obtain estimates of these parameters. Some of the parameters, however, are not identifiable due to restricted motion of proximal links and the lack of full force/torque sensing. The algorithm was implemented on the MIT Serial Link Direct Drive Arm. A good match was obtained between joint torques predicted from the estimated parameters and the joint torques computed from motor currents.

Methods for resolving kinematic redundancies of manipulators by the effect on joint torque are examined. When the generalized inverse is formulated in terms of accelerations and incorporated into the dynamics, the effect of redundancy resolution on joint torque can be directly reflected. One method chooses the joint acceleration null-space vector to minimize joint torque in a least squares sense; when the least squares is weighted by allowable torque range, the joint torques tend to be kept within their limits. Contrasting methods employing only the pseudoinverse with and without weighting by the inertia matrix are presented. The results show an unexpected stability problem during long trajectories for the null-space methods and for the inertia-weighted pseudoinverse method, but rarely for the unweighted pseudoinverse method. Evidently a whiplash action develops over time that thrusts the endpoint off the intended path, and extremely high torques are required to overcome these natural movement dynamics.