Task Level Modelling of Mechanical Systems for Intelligent Robotics: Plenary Paper

Robotics generally includes complex mechatronic systems where the mechanical elements form a subsystem. The type of robotic systems significantly expanded in recent years. However, they usually share one common element; the main function of a robotic system includes motion and/or force, i.e., the mechanical function is primarily the distinguishing feature of a robotic device. Significant progress took place in the software and sensing components of robotic systems in the past few years leading to more intelligent abilities. On the other hand, the mechanical subsystem behaviours, and how they can affect the performance of the functioning of a robot, do not seem to be completely understood and investigated in detail. This fact manifests itself in multiple ways, for example, in many robotic systems the mechanical elements are the first to break down. Also, many robotic systems with advanced software components have very poorly performing mechanical parts. Comparing it with the automotive industry, robotic systems are far less reliable mechanically. Based on the same comparison one can draw the conclusion that not enough effort has been invested to understand the mechanics of the different robotic devices and functions. In this work we present a task-specific modelling and analysis approach to provide insight into the mechanics of various types of robotic systems. This starts from the broader interpretation of some main concepts of mechanical modelling, and leads to the possibility to establish taskoriented models and performance measures for both static and dynamic behaviours. We illustrate the material with several examples of different robotic tasks.