Method of constrained Cartesian control of robotic mechanisms with active and passive joints

摘要

The present invention is a method of controlling a robotic mechanism comprising both active and passive joints, where the motion of one or more of the passive joints is constrained by one or more constraints imposed on the mechanism by the environment, the mechanical construction of the mechanism or the nature of the task. The method is capable of controlling mechanisms with multiple sets of passive joints with multiple environmental constraints restricting the motion of the mechanism. In a preferred embodiment the novel method is used to control a surgical robot holding a surgical instrument inserted into a patient through a natural or man-made orifice.