Effects of genetic algorithm parameters on trajectory planning for 6‐DOF industrial robots

Purpose – Seeks to present a new method of trajectory planning, i.e. genetic algorithms (GA), for six‐degree‐of‐freedom (DOF) industrial robots. Design/methodology/approach – Describes the effects of the GA method with the advantage of quaternion algebra and by a process of elimination selects the optimal solution. Findings – Finds that the problem of optimization, caused by having two contrary response variables, i.e. time and distance, can only be solved by determining the importance of the variables and calculating the optimum levels of the parameters. Originality/value – This study would appear to break new ground in the trajectory planning of six‐DOF industrial robots in proposing a superior alternative to conventional methods.