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Modular Robots

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Handbook of Manufacturing Engineering and Technology

Abstract

Modularity is an important design concept in engineering to cope with complex systems. For robots used in the industrial environment, the complexity resides in the robot system as well as the tasks given to the robot. This chapter presents an up-to-date development in modular reconfigurable robots for the industry based on modular design principles. The scopes of the chapter cover the definition and classifications of modular robots; past and present research efforts in modular reconfigurable robots for the industry; basic modular design method including mechanical and interface issues; modular robot representation schemes for classifications and modeling; automatic model-generation techniques, kinematics, dynamics, and calibration; task-based configuration optimization; modular robot software; and a demonstration workcell based on reconfigurable modular robot for adaptability. In the concluding section, future perspective of modular robots for industrial applications is discussed.

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Acknowledgment

The author would like to acknowledge works contributed by team members of the project: Prof. Song Huat Yeo, Prof. Guang Chen, Dr. Guilin Yang, Prof. Peter Chen, Prof. Weihai Chen, Dr. Wei Lin, Mr. In-Gyu Kang, Mr. Wee Kiat Lim, Mr. Edwin Ho, Mr. S. Ramachandran, Ms. Yan Gao, and Mr. Chee Tat Tan. The editorial assistance and update of the manuscript from Dr. Qilong Yuan is also appreciated. This project was financially supported by the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Singapore, and Agency for Science, Technology and Research (ASTAR) SERC Grant 1225100005 under the Industrial Robotics Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore, Singapore

    I-Ming Chen

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  1. I-Ming Chen
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Correspondence to I-Ming Chen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Andrew Y. C. Nee

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag London

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Chen, IM. (2015). Modular Robots. In: Nee, A. (eds) Handbook of Manufacturing Engineering and Technology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4670-4_100

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