Robotics Design Process
Defining the Problem
Researching and Designing
Creating a Prototype
Building your Robot
Programming and Testing your Robot
Evaluating your Robot
Defining the Problem
∙ identifying the purpose of a construction
∙ identifying specific requirements
You are confronted with a situation. Here are two examples:
A community wants to construct a robot zoo in which the "animals" move
their heads, open their mouths and make appropriate sounds when they
sense that someone is coming towards them. Design and build a prototype
device which could satisfy this need.
A local pet shop wishes to sell a range of devices which automatically feed
small cage pets (such as rabbits, gerbils, mice etc.) when their owners are
away for the weekend. Design and build a prototype device which could
satisfy this need.
You need to determine what problem you are trying to solve before you
attempt to design and build a robot to solve a problem. Take the time to
study a number of different situations and once you have decided what the
situation is and you understand exactly what the problem is then write a
design brief in a log book (this will be your working document as you work
on your robot. This log book can be a paper notebook or an electronic
document.) This is a short statement which explains the problem that is to
be solved.
Researching and Designing
∙ gathering information
∙ identifying specific details of the design which must be satisfied ∙
identifying possible and alternative design solutions
∙ planning and designing an appropriate structure which includes drawings
Having written a brief, you are now ready to gather information which will
help you to produce a successful design. First you will need to decide what
information you require. This will be different from project to project and will
also depend on the amount of information and knowledge you already have.
A useful step will be to use the following chart. Ask the five questions, then
read the column headed Gathering Information. This will help you plan
the type of information you will need to gather.
Gathering Information
A design's practical funct
1. What is the
practical function of ∙ movement How wi
the design? (What within its environm
must my robot do?) in a different env
still be able to mo
space?
∙ manipulation How w
or manipulate othe
environment? Can
move or manipula
kind of object?
∙ energy How is the rob
it have more than one
intelligence How does
What does it mean to
"thinks?"
∙ sensing How will m
figure out what's i
If it were pu
environment, wo
figure out this new
Shape and form are imp
2. What part does aesthetic qualities, ergo
appearance (shape stability, rigidity, safety
and form, surface
texture, colour, Surface texture, finish
etc.) play in the appropriate to a design's
design's function? mechanical, optical and t
What does the
robot look like?
Is there a reason
for it to look as it
does?
durability, etc.
3. What materials
are suitable for the
design?
The properties of a mat
its suitability for a design
robotics we have chos
LegoT™. However, there
types of materials that c
in the construction of rob
∙ strength, hardness, t
∙ durability
∙ and the aesthetic qua
4. What by colour, surface t
construction etc.
methods are
appropriate to the The materials cost and av
design? important factors.
Construction techniques
categories of:
∙ cutting and shaping
∙ fabrication - the asse
using screws, bolts, gl
moulding - by the app
on the material
∙ casting - using a mou
shape of a solidifyin
A particular material can
5. What are the a limited number of wa
likely social and construction therefore wi
environmental the chosen material,
manufacturing facilities,
work force and the produ
The manu
product
detrimenta
and
effects of the design? the environment. The designer therefore, has
an enormous responsibility to consider
very carefully the potential effects of any
new design. This will include: health and
safety factors, noise, smell, pollution, etc.
Gathering information can involve reading, listening, conducting interviews
and observing.
A specification is a detailed description of the problem to be solved. It should
'spell out' exactly what the design must achieve.
Creating a Prototype
∙ testingthe design
∙ troubleshooting the design
You should ideally think of at least three different ways to solve the problem
before you concentrate on any one in particular. Sketches and notes are
required at this stage. You can also create prototypes using lego for this
step. Once you have created a lego prototype, take a digital picture of it.
Print out the picture and jot your notes below the picture in your log book.
Once you have settled on one solution, go back over the list of specifications
you have made. Make sure that each specification is satisfied.
Now it the time to produce some working drawings. These are the drawings
that will assist you as you begin constructing the prototype of your
structure. (Here again, lego and a digital camera might be your best friend.)
You may choose to do your drawings by hand or you might want to use a
draw program on the computer to assist you.
Determine a working schedule for yourself. Draw up a timetable showing
how much time you expect to spend on each part of the design process.
Your planning should also ensure that you have all the necessary materials
and equipment that you need to complete your project.
Building your Robot
Construction work can now begin. Here are some sites that help with:
∙ The Art of LEGO Design by Fred Martin - an excellent resource for
building very strong structures
Programming and Testing your Robot
Now it is time to program your robot. This can be achieved in many different
ways. Use can achieve rudimentary intelligence in your robot by using only
relays, potentiometers, bump switches and some discrete components. You
can increase complexity in intelligence in your robot by adding more sensors
and continuing in the same vein of using hardwired logic. By introducing a
more sophisticated control element, the microprocessor, you introduce a
significant new tool in solving the robot control problem. For our robots we
used the RCX Brick that was first developed by Fred Martin at MIT as the
Programmable Brick. See the following two programming examples:
Mindstorms™
Robolab™ has two levels for programming.
Once you have written your program and downloaded into the RCX brick
using the Infrared Sender, it is time to test your robot to see if it truly does
what you want it to do.
Evaluating your Robot
∙ evaluate the design
∙ evaluate the planning process
As building and programming work progresses, and the design begins to
take shape, you will automatically carry out tests on the design. You will also
need to complete systems tests at various stages of the construction. If any
of the tests show that you have failure in a joint, or that part of your
structure is not meeting specifications, then you will have to make
modifications in your plan.
When building and programming is complete, the entire project must be
tested to see if it does the job for which it was designed. An evaluation
needs to then be written. This should be a statement outlining the strengths
and weaknesses in your design. It should describe where you have
succeeded and where you have failed to achieve the aims set out in the
specifications.
Here is a list of questions which will help you to prepare this statement.
∙ How well does the design function?
∙ Does the design look good?
∙ Is the product safe to use?
∙ Did I plan my work adequately?
∙ Did I find the construction straightforward or difficult?
∙ Were the most suitable materials used?
∙ Did it cost more or less than expected?
∙ How could I have improved my design?
Trajectory planning:
The considerations of interest for continuous motion path planning are as follows:
i) When picking up an object, the motion of the hand must be directed away from an object
to avoid any crash
ii) We need to specify a departure position (lift-off point) along the normal vector to the
surface out from the initial position.
iii) We need to have four positions of each arm motion: initial, lift-off, set-down and final
iv) Position constraints:
a) velocity and acceleration at initial position
b) Continuous motion for intermediate points
c) set-down position parameters
d) velocity and acceleration at final position
v) The extrema of all the joint trajectories must be within the physical and geometric limits of
each joint.
vi) Time consideration for initial & final trajectory segments and for intermediate points.
The constraints for planning joint-interpolated trajectory are:
A) Initial position: i) Position (given) ii) Velocity (given, normally zero) iii) Acceleration(given,
normally zero)
B) Intermediate position: i) Lift-off position (given) ii) Lift-off position (continuous with
previous trajectory segment) iii) Velocity (continuous with previous trajectory segment) iv)
acceleration (continuous with previous trajectory segment) v) Set-down position (given) vi) Set
down position (continuous with next trajectory segment) vii) Velocity (continuous with next
trajectory segment) viii) acceleration (continuous with next trajectory segment)
C) Final position: i) End Position (given) ii) End Velocity (given, normally zero) iii) End
Acceleration(given, normally zero)
The most common methods to split joint trajectory are:
i) 4-3-4 trajectory: The first segment is a 4th order polynomial from the initial to the lift off
position. The mid-trajectory is a 3rd degree polynomial for lift-off position to the set
down position. The last one is a 4th order polynomial specifying the trajectory from the
set-down position to the final position.
ii) 3-5-3 trajectory: Here, a 3rd degree polynomial for the first segment, a 5th degree polynomial
for the second segment and a 3rd degree polynomial for the last segment are used.
iii) 5-cubic trajectory: Cubic spline functions of 3rd degree polynomial for five trajectory
segments are used.
