Trajectory Design for Energy Savings in Redundant Robotic Cells

Abstract

This work explores the possibility of exploiting kinematic redundancy as a tool to enhance the energetic performance of a robotic cell. The test case under consideration comprises a three-degree-of-freedom Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm (SCARA) robot and an additional linear unit that is used to move the workpiece during a pick and place operation. The trajectory design is based on a spline interpolation of a sequence of via-points: The corresponding motion of the joints is used to evaluate, through the use of an inverse dynamic model, the actuators effort and the associated power consumption by the robot and by the linear unit. Numerical results confirm that the suggested method can improve both the execution time and the overall energetic efficiency of the cell.