Vision-based trajectory generation for a two-link robotic arm using quadtree decomposition and curve smoothing

In this article, the development of an autonomous robot trajectory generation system based on a single eye-in-hand webcam, where the workspace map is not known a priori, is described. The system makes use of image processing methods to identify locations of obstacles within the workspace and the Quadtree Decomposition algorithm to generate collision free paths. The shortest path is then automatically chosen as the path to be traversed by the robot end-effector. The method was implemented using MATLAB running on a PC and tested on a two-link SCARA robotic arm. The tests were successful and indicate that the method could be feasibly implemented on many practical applications.