To realize the control of redundant manipulators, the concept of the motion optimizability measure is introduced. We derive an analytical solution technique for the inverse kinematics of a redundant robot that reduces the computational complexity and does not require the pseudoinverse Jacobian. Based on this technique, we propose an efficient, kinematic optimal control scheme. We show how to incorporate multiple criteria in the formulation. An online implementation of the system that ensures stable operation is presented.>