(MATLAB, Simulink and associated software)

Robotics is a multidisciplinary science that relies on contributions and advances in many areas of science and technology such as Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Physics A robot is a machine that is programmable to automatically take inputs and perform a specific task to give a specific output. A robot thus has a mechanical component as well as electronic component. The difference between a robot and an ordinary control system is that for a robot, an operator or human intervention is NOT necessary.

Mechatronics is the integration of mechanical and electronic components into a functional system. Robots can be called mechatronic devices: but Mechatronic devices are NOT robots. A robotic device is additionally defined by programmability and the ability to move or carry a load. Thus it differs from a mechatronic device.

Robots are workers. Once programmed to perform a task, they will do it repeatedly, reliably and accurately without need for human intervention. Can work in hazardous environments. Can perform tasks humans cannot do: e.g. space exploration, narrow pipeline motion, moving small/big objects Can perform industrial work: assembly line work, component mounting, ship cleaning, etc. Can entertain: Robotic toys for children

Mobile Robots: Ability of ground motion by wheeling, walking, hopping, etc. Size varies a lot E.g. University of Florida Center for Intelligent Machines And Robots (CIMAR) autonomous vehicle

Small scale robots: Inspired by small animals, small size and used for innocuous tasks or for fun. E.g. Stiquito robot, hexapod robot that moves like a six legged animal (see below):

Nano-robots: also called molecular robots. These are molecular scale robots relying on piezoelectric motors and biological sensors. It is a cutting edge research area at this time.

Anthropomorphic Robots: Humanoid Robots These are the ultimate goals of research in robotics. Although robot arms, legs, hands, heads have been successfully built, a fully intelligent robot is still far from reality. Example: ASIMO Robot (Advanced Step In Innovative Mobility)

Sensors: Measurement Devices. In the case of robots, to measure displacement, light level, speed, distance, acceleration, orientation, temperature, pressure, light level, sound level, proximity, etc. Actuators: Motors that allow the robots to move. They may be electric, hydraulic, pneumatic, piezoelectric, or even biological. Controllers, Electronics and Mechanics (i.e. motors, gears, shafts, belts, links, etc.) Software: data stored in memory that defines the robots behaviour and response to the working of mechanical and electrical components.

Type of anthropomorphic robot resembling human arm . Software controllable that uses sensors to guide end effector through programmed motion in workspace in order to manipulate physical objects.

Hydraulic drive Electric Drive

Pneumatic Drive

Robot manipulators are consisted of a sequence of links attached at joints. Each link can move with respect to the preceding link either through a sliding or a rotational joint. Objects in 3D space are said to have six degrees of freedom. 3 for position and 3 for orientation. Position can be defined by x and y axes while for orientation we use different angles alpha, beta and gamma.

Cartesian Cylindrical Spherical SCARA Articulated

Method used to control End effector or Tool Point to Point: Spot Welding ,pick & place etc. Continuous Path: Spray Painting, Gluing etc.

a)

b)

Number of axes Load Carrying Capacity: kg Maximum speed: mm/sec Reach : mm Tool orientation: deg Repeatability: mm Precision & accuracy: mm Operating Environment

In our project we use MATLAB and Simulink along with certain other tools* to create a fully functional simulation of a 3-joint robot. The important components used here are any or all of the follows: MATLAB (to generate the m-files necessary to provide inputs to the system), Simulink with SimScape, SimMechanics and SimHydraulics (to formulate the kinematic animation parameters)

For testing purposes and to check the calculated parameters the following programs may be used: RModelo, DHSim, other tools such as ROBOTran, etc. Parameters: Predominantly DH parameters

SimScape is a module of Simulink specially designed to simulate multi-domain systems, i.e. those with electrical, mechanical, thermal, pneumatic components in the same system. SimScape utilizes separate blocks for each type of system and also allows customization as to specific physical dimensions of the bodies or components.

SimMechanics is a MATLAB module designed for the design and simulation of multibody rigid systems, which are particularly suited for robotics. With SimMechanics software, you can model and simulate mechanical systems with a suite of tools to specify bodies and their mass properties, their possible motions, kinematic constraints, and coordinate systems, and to initiate and measure body motions. You represent a mechanical system by a connected block diagram, like other Simulink models. You can also incorporate hierarchical subsystems. Software like ROBOTrans add additional functions to SimMechanics, thus making it more flexible for robot modelling.

MATLAB is used to generate the requisite M-files that contain the parameters necessary for the modelling of the robot (and kinematics). This M-file is to be used as an input in SimMechanics to model a mechanical system. The Mechanical System is then coupled with an electrical/electronic system in SimScape to produce the final model of the robot. The M-File input then drives the system. A VR Sink (Virtual Reality Modelling Language) is used to convert the outputs into the ISO standard VRML format and provide a full 3D model of the robot. Auxiliary software (ROBOTrans/Rmodelo/DHSim) are used for testing and convenience as they add to the MATLAB functions.

Example of robotic system designed under SimScape and SimMechanics:

SimMechanics design with per-block parameters and specific dimensions to sub-blocks (note that each link has an M-file for describing its motion, and that each link is composed of several sub-blocks with different physical dimensions):

MATLAB allows to design robots in several ways. You can develop a robot model using SolidWorks (or any other modelling software), import it into SimScape and then provide an input using an M-file. Or you can directly model the robot in SimMechanics and obtain the output. Choice in modelling: MATLAB can treat the robot motion as a multibody mechanical system (classical mechanics) or a robotic system (canonical transformations).