Robotic manipulators are highly non-linear systems, and it is difficult
to obtain an accurate mathematical model with conventional techniques.
Applying classical control techniques can solve this type of problem,
but it has the disadvantage that it takes a large amount of time to
obtain a satisfactory result for manipulators with a large number of
degrees of freedom (GDL). Therefore, an efficient technique is required
to deal with such complex and dynamic systems. The Differential
Evolution (DE) algorithm is a very powerful global optimization
technique which has nowadays become popular due to its possible
application in a large number of fields within robotics. This paper
shows a direct application of this optimization method on a simulated
model of a 6 GDL arm and a subsequent application on a low-cost model.