Section: New Results

Set-based evaluation of robot capabilities

Set-based approaches allow to model serial mechanisms with varying levels of geometric uncertainties. The Kinematic Chain Appropriate Design Library (KCADL) has been created for the purpose of modelling imprecise serial kinematic chains and provides numerous certified methods, implemented using the IBEX interval analysis library, for analyzing the capabilities of these modelled mechanisms. The KCADL software provides a set of public routines to build arbitrary serial mechanisms by incrementally adding rigid-body segments with associated parent-child uncertainties. Efficient Forward Kinematic (FK) and Inverse Kinematic (IK) solvers have been formulated and integrated into the software. These solvers are fully compatible with set-based inputs and are capable of handling sets of poses or sets of joint configurations. In addition to the FK and IK solvers, analysis routines which are applicable to imprecise kinematic chains with set-based inputs are also implemented in the software (e.g., evaluating the mechanism's: force/velocity/acceleration capabilities, precision). These routines provide offline analysis and design tools as well as online real-time capable tools for reliably evaluating current and future capabilities.