Robot kinematics is the study of the geometry and motion of robot mechanisms — particularly manipulator arms — without regard to the forces or torques that cause motion. It encompasses forward kinematics (computing end-effector pose from joint configurations), inverse kinematics (computing joint configurations for a desired end-effector pose), Jacobian analysis relating joint velocities to Cartesian velocities, and singularity analysis. Kinematic models are foundational inputs to motion planning, trajectory generation, and control law design.
Robot kinematics (RB-0021) is the geometric analysis of robot motion, treating the manipulator as a chain of rigid bodies connected by joints. Forward kinematics maps joint space to Cartesian end-effector pose using Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) or product-of-exponentials parameterisations. Inverse kinematics (IK) solves the reverse problem — often non-uniquely and requiring iterative numerical methods for redundant manipulators. The Jacobian matrix relates differential joint motion to end-effector velocity and is central to velocity control and singularity avoidance.