Numerical Continuation Methods for Solving Polynomial Systems Arising in Kinematics

Abstract

Many problems in mechanism design and theoretical kinematics can be formulated as systems of polynomial equations. Recent developments in numerical continuation have led to algorithms that compute all solutions to polynomial systems of moderate size. Despite the immediate relevance of these methods, they are unfamiliar to most kinematicians. This paper attempts to bridge that gap by presenting a tutorial on the main ideas of polynomial continuation along with a section surveying advanced techniques. A seven position Burmester problem serves to illustrate the basic material and the inverse position problem for general six-axis manipulators shows the usefulness of the advanced techniques.