The doctoral dissertations of the former Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) and Aalto University Schools of Technology (CHEM, ELEC, ENG, SCI) published in electronic format are available in the electronic publications archive of Aalto University - Aaltodoc.
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Modularity in Service Robotics – Techno-Economic Justification Through a Case Study
Sami Ylönen
Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science in Technology to be presented with due permission of the Department of Automation and Systems Technology for public examination and debate in Auditorium AS1 at Helsinki University of Technology (Espoo, Finland) on the 1st of December, 2006, at 12 o'clock noon.
Dissertation in PDF format (ISBN 951-22-8503-7) [2687 KB]
Dissertation is also available in print (ISBN 951-22-8502-9)
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.
The 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.
This 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.
The 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.
The 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.
Keywords: service robotics, modularity, standardization
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© 2006 Helsinki University of Technology
Last update 2011-05-26