Modularity in service robotics : techno-economic justification through a case study

Abstract

Robotics will undoubtedly be one of the key technologies of the new millennium. Even though robots have already been around for more than forty years, it was not until recently that they started to move out from factories and research institutes into our everyday lives.\n\nThe research focus in robotics has shifted from manipulator-type industrial robots to mobile service robots. These machines are performing various tasks in and outside of our homes and working places. Due to their challenging operation environments and versatile working tasks, they need, in most cases, highly sophisticated hardware and software solutions. In order to create economically justified systems, the concept of modularity must be applied whenever plausible. Only by using some generic modules in different applications can high development costs be kept within acceptable limits. The use of these modules will shorten the development and testing phases and increase the overall reliability of the system.\n\nThis thesis is focused on modularity and its impact on the development of service robotics. It is limited to particular general-purpose modules that can be used in various service robot applications. The main goal of the research was to verify that the concept of modularity is of vital importance in the successful development of future service robotics. To be useful on a global scale, modularity should be based on generally accepted standards, in a similar way as those already available for industrial robots.\n\nThe main scientific contribution of this research comes from the formalization, implementation and evaluation of the concept of modularity in a WorkPartner case project. WorkPartner is a modular interactive service robot that has been developed in the Automation Technology Laboratory at Helsinki University of Technology. Future visions and their impacts are also an important part of the contribution.\n\nThe results of this thesis verify that the concept of modularity, when applied properly, can achieve significant savings in the overall development costs of service robotics.