The application of manipulators in demands high speed of manipulator to achieve the shortest possible time for a manipulator to accomplish a certain task. For more than two decades it is known that the solution to time optimal problem for a manipulator along specified path is bang-bang in terms of acceleration along the path and the switching points can be found by phase plane analysis. Despite great advancements, no direct method is still available for finding switching points and constructing switching curve specially for cooperative multi manipulator systems. So far, all proposed methods are based on search algorithms. Although this search algorithm can give the solution, it is very tedious and time consuming and the problem gets worse for cooperative multi manipulator systems. This thesis is concerned with developing a direct method to find the critical points and construction of switching curve for non-redundant cooperative multi manipulator systems. To this end, a rigorous study of the characteristics of the critical points and the switching curve is presented and based on that a direct algorithm is introduced. A main step in solution of time optimal problem on specified path is to find maximum/minimum acceleration at each step. For cooperative multi manipulator systems this amounts to solution of a linear programming problem. In this thesis a fast algorithm for time optimal control of cooperative multi manipulator systems is presented. The method takes advantage of the number of saturated actuators at each step and reduces the linear programming problem into the solution of a set of linear equations. More detailed studies are done about trapped area and locked area to further reduce computational effort through construction of switching curve in phase-plane Coordinated motion of multi manipulator systems is a challenging problem. The difficulty is due to redundancy of actuators, which if not employed properly may cause unwanted force generation in manipulators as well as the payload. This problem can get worse during a minimum time motion, in which the actuators are to move the end effector on the path as fast as possible. This thesis is concerned with problem of moving the end effector of a cooperative multi manipulator system along a specified path while internal force/moment in payload is limited to a certain amount. To this end, an improved time optimal algorithm based on phase plane analysis is presented which accounts for the limits of internal forces of payload as inequality constraints for time optimal motion.