*Article* **A Novel Inverse Kinematic Solution of a Six-DOF Robot Using Neural Networks Based on the Taguchi Optimization Technique**

**Teodoro Ibarra-Pérez 1,\*, José Manuel Ortiz-Rodríguez 2, Fernando Olivera-Domingo 1, Héctor A. Guerrero-Osuna 3, Hamurabi Gamboa-Rosales <sup>3</sup> and Ma. del Rosario Martínez-Blanco 2,\***


**Abstract:** The choice of structural parameters in the design of artificial neural networks is generally based on trial-and-error procedures. They are regularly estimated based on the previous experience of the researcher, investing large amounts of time and processing resources during network training, which are usually limited and do not guarantee the optimal selection of parameters. This paper presents a procedure for the optimization of the training dataset and the optimization of the structural parameters of a neural network through the application of a robust neural network design methodology based on the design philosophy proposed by Genichi Taguchi, applied to the solution of inverse kinematics in an open source, six-degrees-of-freedom robotic manipulator. The results obtained during the optimization process of the structural parameters of the network show an improvement in the accuracy of the results, reaching a high prediction percentage and maintaining a margin of error of less than 5%.

**Keywords:** backpropagation; optimization methods; inverse kinematics; robotics
