Fundamentals

Power is the rate at which work is done:

\[P = \frac{W}{T}\]

Conservation of Energy

(Ignoring losses)

Power at the joints = Power at the tip.


Tip Velocity

\[v_{\text{tip}} = J(\theta) \, \dot{\theta}\]

Power at Individual Joints

The power contribution from each joint is:

\[P_i = \tau_i \, \dot{\theta}_i\]

Summing across all joints gives:

\[P = \tau^T \dot{\theta}\]

Power at the End-Effector

At the end-effector, power is expressed in terms of force and velocity:

\[P_{\text{tip}} = f_{\text{tip}}^T \, v_{\text{tip}}\]

Relating Torques and Forces

Substituting \(v_{\text{tip}} = J(\theta)\dot{\theta}\) into the conservation of power relation:

\[P_{\text{tip}} = f_{\text{tip}}^T \, J(\theta) \, \dot{\theta}\]

Equating joint and tip power:

\[\tau^T \dot{\theta} = f_{\text{tip}}^T \, J(\theta) \, \dot{\theta}\]

Since this must hold for all \(\dot{\theta}\):

\[\tau^T = f_{\text{tip}}^T \, J(\theta)\]

Taking the transpose for conventional notation:

\[\tau = J(\theta)^T f_{\text{tip}}\]