A novel inverse kinematics solution based on the back propagation neural network (NN) for redundant manipulators is developed for online obstacles avoidance. A laser transducer at the end-effctor is used for online planning the trajectory. Since the inverse kinematics in the present problem has infinite number of joint angle vectors, a fuzzy reasoning system is designed to generate an approximate value for that vector. This vector is fed into the NN as a hint input vector rather than as a training vector to guide the output of the NN. Simulations are implemented on both three- and four-link redundant planar manipulators to show the effectiveness of the proposed position control system.