For the large redundant manipulator, due to its long working distance and large mass, the number of links (i.e., manipulator’s arms) that can be driven to move simultaneously is limited. Otherwise, the control accuracy and motion stability of the manipulator will deteriorate. Focusing on that, a weighted Newton iteration (WNI) algorithm for trajectory planning of the manipulator is firstly proposed, where the motion of the manipulator joints is controlled by a weight matrix, which is constant and related to each link’s energy consumption. To dynamically adjust the weight matrix according to kinematic constraints and acquire better energy efficiency, an adaptive WNI (AWNI) algorithm is further proposed. In AWNI, the weight matrix is adjusted in real-time during the planning process, with considerations of the kinematic constraints and the energy consumption of the manipulator. The switch of the links between the working state and the non-working state is made through the weight matrix to achieve flexible control of the manipulator motion. Two evaluation functions are established to validate the effectiveness of AWNI in energy saving and motion stability control. Taking a 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) manipulator as an example, simulation experiments on trajectory planning are carried out and the results show the effectiveness of the proposed AWNI algorithm.

Metamorphic robots are a new type of unmanned vehicle that can reconfigure and morph between a car mode and a biped walking machine mode. Such a vehicle is superior in trafficability because it can drive at high speeds on its wheels on structured pavement and walk on its legs on unstructured pavement. An engineering prototype of a metamorphic robot was proposed and designed based on the characteristics of wheeled–legged hybrid motion, and reconfiguration planning of the robot was conducted. A kinematics model of the reconfiguration process was established using the screw theory for metamorphic robots. To avoid component impact during the rapid global reconfiguration and achieve smoothness of the reconfiguration process, a rotation rule for each rotating joint was designed and the kinematics model was used to simulate and validate the motion of the system’s end mechanism (front frame) and the entire robot system. Based on the kinematics model and the rotation rules of the rotating joints, a zero-moment point (ZMP) calculation model of the entire robot mechanism in the reconfiguration process was established, and the stability of the reconfiguration motions was evaluated based on the ZMP motion trajectory. The foot landing position was optimized to improve the robot’s stability during the reconfiguration. Finally, the smoothness and stability of the reconfiguration motion were further validated by testing the prototype of the metamorphic robot.