Surgical manipulator and method of operating the same using virtual rigid body modeling preliminary

A method of operating a surgical manipulator, wherein the surgical manipulator includes an arm comprising a plurality of links and joints, wherein an angle between adjacent links forms a joint angle, and the arm comprising a distal end configured to support a surgical instrument including an energy applicator, and at least one controller coupled to the arm, the method comprising:

• controlling, with the at least one controller, operation of the surgical manipulator in a manual mode or a semi-autonomous mode by:
• modeling, with the at least one controller, the surgical instrument and the energy applicator as a virtual rigid body;
• selectively applying, with the at least one controller, a plurality of input forces and/or torques to the virtual rigid body for simulating orientation and movement of the surgical instrument and the energy applicator;
• selectively adjusting, with the at least one controller, the plurality of input forces and/or torques based on whether the surgical manipulator is operated in the manual mode or the semi-autonomous mode;
• determining, with the at least one controller, a commanded pose for the surgical instrument and the energy applicator based on the selectively applying and adjusting the plurality of input forces and/or torques;
• and
• determining, with the at least one controller, commanded joint angles for the arm for placing the surgical instrument and the energy applicator according to the commanded pose.