Joint origin identification of articulated robots with marker-based multi-camera optical tracking systems

• We use marker-based multi-camera optical tracking systems to verify kinematic chains of articulated robots.
• The identification of the mounted tracking bodies relative to the joints of an articulated robot is essential for an accurate representation of the kinematic model.
• We identify the origin of joints relative to tracking bodies by using state-of-the-art center of rotation (CoR) and axes of rotation (AoR) estimation methods.
• The applicability of our method is proven with two case studies.

Marker-based multi-camera optical tracking systems are being used in the robotics field to track robots for validation, verification, and calibration of their kinematic and dynamic models. These tracking systems estimate the pose of tracking bodies attached to objects within a tracking volume. In this work, we explore the case of tracking the origins of joints of articulated robots when the tracking bodies are mounted on limbs or structures relative to the joints. This configuration leads to an unknown relative pose between the tracking body and the joint origin. The identification of this relative pose is essential for an accurate representation of the kinematic model. We propose an approach for the identification of the origin of joints relative to tracking bodies by using state-of-the-art center of rotation (CoR) and axis of rotation (AoR) estimation methods. The applicability and effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated in two successful case studies: (i) the verification of the upper body kinematics of DLR’s humanoid Rollin’ Justin and (ii) the identification of the kinematic parameters of an ST Robot arm relative to its environment for the embodiment of a situated conversational assistant.