A minimal touch approach for optimizing energy efficiency in pick-and-place manipulators

The interest in novel engineering methods and tools for optimizing the energy consumption in robotic systems is currently increasing. In particular, from an industry point of view, it is desirable to develop energy saving strategies applicable also to established manufacturing systems, being liable of small possibilities for adjustments. Within this scenario, an engineering method is reported for reducing the total energy consumption of pick-and-place manipulators for given end-effector trajectory. Firstly, an electromechanical model of parallel/serial manipulators is derived. Then, an energy-optimal trajectory is calculated, by means of time scaling, starting from a pre-scheduled trajectory performed at maximum speed (i.e. compatible with actuators limitations). A simulation case study finally shows the effectiveness of the proposed procedure.