This book introduces the latest advances in modular robotics, and presents a unified geometric framework for modeling, analysis, and design of modular robots, including kinematics, dynamics, calibration, and configuration optimization. Supplementing the main content with a wealth of illustrations, the book offers a valuable guide for researchers, engineers and graduate students in the fields of mechatronics, robotics, and automation who wish to learn about the theory and practice of modular robots.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Motivation
1.2 Past Research and Development Efforts
1.3 Overview of This Book
4 Modular Serial Robot Kinematics
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Geometric Background and the POE Formula
4.2.1 Geometric Background
4.2.2 The POE Formula
4.3 Forward Kinematics
4.3.1 Dyad Kinematics
4.3.2 Forward Kinematics for a Tree-Structured Modular Robot
4.4 Inverse Kinematics
4.4.1 Differential Kinematics Model for a Single Branch
4.4.2 Differential Kinematics Model for a Tree-Structured Robot
4.4.3 Computation Examples
4.4.4 Remarks on Computation Results
5 Kinematic Calibration for Modular Serial Robots
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Kinematic Calibration Models
5.2.1 Basic Calibration Models
5.2.2 An Iterative Least-Squares Algorithm
5.2.3 Kinematic Calibration of Tree-structured Robots
5.3 ComputationExamples
5.3.1 Calibration of a three-module Robot
5.3.2 Calibration of a SCARA Type Robot
5.3.3 Calibration of a Tree-structured Robot
6 Modular Serial Robot Dynamics
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Newton-Euler Equation for a Link Assembly
6.3 Dynamic Formulation for a Tree-Structured Modular Robot
6.3.1 Recursive Newton-Euler Algorithm
6.3.2 Closed Form Equations of Motion
6.3.3 Remarks on the Dynamics Algorithms
6.3.4 Implementation and Examples
6.4 Inverse and Forward Dynamics Problem
6.4.1 Inverse Dynamics
6.4.2 Forward Dynamics
7 Optimization of Modular Serial Robot Configurations
7.1 Introduction
7.2 General Design Methodology
7.3 Optimization Model
7.3.1 Definition of Robot Tasks
7.3.2 Design Parameters and the Search Space
7.3.3 Objective Function
7.3.4 Performance Constraints
7.4 Evolutionary Algorithm
7.4.1 Coding Scheme
7.4.2 AIM Generating Scheme
7.4.3 Genetic Operators on AIMs
7.4.4 Implementation of the Evolutionary Algorithm
7.5 Computation Examples