Synergy: A language and framework for robot design

Abstract

Rovost Date Due to escalation in complexity, capability and application, robot design is increasingly difficult. A design environment can automate many design tasks and relieve the designer’s burden. Prior to robot development. designers usually compose a robot from existing or custom developed components, simulate performance, optimize configuration and parameters, and write software for the robot. Robot designers customize these facets to the robot using a variety of software tools ranging from spreadsheets to C code to CAD tools. Valuable resoiirces are expended. and very little of this expertise and development is reusable. This research begins with the premise that a language to comprehensively represent robots is lacking and that the aforementioned design tasks can be automated once such a language exists. This research proposes and demonstrates the following thesis: “A ltrngunge fo represent robotx, along wirh n frtiniework to generole sirniilarioris, optimize desigrzs arid generare confro1 software, iiicrerises flre effecliveriess of dzsigii. ‘I