Abstract:In the last decades, increasing energy prices and growing environmental awareness have driven engineers and scientists to find new solutions for reducing energy consumption in manufacturing. Although many processes of a high energy consumption (e.g., chemical, heating, etc.) are considered to have reached high levels of efficiency, this is not the case for many other industrial manufacturing activities. Indeed, this is the case for robotic and automatic systems, for which, in the past, the minimization of energy demand was not considered a design objective. The proper design and operation of industrial robots and automation systems represent a great opportunity for reducing energy consumption in the industry, for example, by the substitution with more efficient systems and the energy optimization of operation. This review paper classifies and analyses several methodologies and technologies that have been developed with the aim of providing a reference of existing methods, techniques and technologies for enhancing the energy performance of industrial robotic and mechatronic systems. Hardware and software methods, including several subcategories, are considered and compared, and emerging ideas and possible future perspectives are discussed.
Energy saving in robotic and mechatronic systems is becoming an evermore important topic in both industry and academia. One strategy to reduce the energy consumption, especially for cyclic tasks, is exploiting natural motion. We define natural motion as the system response caused by the conversion of potential elastic energy into kinetic energy. This motion can be both a forced response assisted by a motor or a free response. The application of the natural motion concepts allows for energy saving in tasks characterized by repetitive or cyclic motion. This review paper proposes a classification of several approaches to natural motion, starting from the compliant elements and the actuators needed for its implementation. Then several approaches to natural motion are discussed based on the trajectory followed by the system, providing useful information to the researchers dealing with natural motion.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.