Energy-Efficient Point-to-Point Trajectory Generation for Industrial Robotic Machines

Robots and mechatronic applications are widely used for process automation in plants and factories. Trajectory planning is a fundamental issue for operating these industrial machines and, in this work, a point-to-point (PTP) trajectory based on a S-curve has been designed to reduce the consumed energy of a typical mechatronic system, i.e. a robotic linear axis made of an electric-motor that moves a payload on a plane by means of a transmission system and a toothed belt. This evaluation is used to find the minimum energy consumption conditions, also taking into account the possibility of using a regenerative brake. The problem is defined and solved for several operative conditions, either in a closed-form or numerically using a genetic algorithm.