Technology Platform

Aims

Parallel to the fundamental research and development work, a complex, two-arm, two-handed mobile robot for flexible service tasks will emerge in the shape of an "everyday" technology platform, whereby the outcome of the basic research will be integrated into the robot in accordance with a pre-defined integration plan at an early stage.
The technology platform is the instrument used to produce the convergence of technology defined in the official announcement. The platform serves as a vehicle for the integration of, and tests on, robot technology for its suitability for everyday use, such as the LBR lightweight arm from Kuka Roboter or the robot hands (dextrous and anthropomorphic) from the Schunk company.
It also serves as a "testbed" for identifying and evaluating the best practice in a highly diverse range of robotics fields such as mobile manipulation, visual navigation, grasping and much more. The long-term aim is to develop an archive of the best available methods that, where possible, covers every field of mobile manipulation and service robotics.



DESIRE technology platform
Method

Based on typical operational environments and representative scenarios, the system requirements resulting from analysed tasks, sequences, objects to be handled and transported, human interactions, etc. are extrapolated, quantified and documented.

Measurement and assessment criteria are defined for evaluating system functions and/or the entire system operation of the service robots. These serve to keep pace with the evaluation of the processes and components in terms of clearly defined indicators that show progress towards achieving suitability for everyday use.

Taking into account the findings of the above-mentioned work, a specification document will be provided in the shape of a structured set of performance and functional specifications. As the first integrated system of its kind in the world to accomplish a broad range of tasks in everyday environments, the aim of this platform is to establish the function, performance and acceptance of a lastingly available mass product.

The development of processes and components suitable for everyday use takes place in the work packages relating to the basic principles. The integration phase brings together the developed platform-specific components as well as the components on the technology platform which were developed in the DESIRE fundamentals and is designed to ensure the convergence of technology and broad availability of the achieved research and development results that are prescribed by the official announcement.


Envisaged results
  • Integration of all the basic functions
  • Technology platform with all pertinent components developed and the prototype integrated for further trials