Experimental validation of advanced minimum energy robot trajectory optimization

The improvement of energy efficiency in automation and robotic systems still has high significance in engineering research. This paper presents experimental results of minimum energy trajectory optimization for multi-axis manipulators using electrical energy exchange via the shared inverter DC link. Thus, existing simulation findings demonstrating the potential of the proposed minimum energy optimization approach are validated. In this context, a global optimization method is applied utilizing an advanced cost function formulation that is based on an energy flow model including all servo drive components. After the validation of the utilized system model, increased efficiency improvements are proven and compared to established methods. The presented approach as well as the experimental results are fully transferable to any kind of multi-axis system comprising DC link energy supply.