Mechatronics and intelligent systems

The development of intelligent autonomous and semi-autonomous systems capable of operating safely in unstructured environments such as those outlined above will to a significant degree be dependent on the achievement on the levels of system integration and the transfer of functionality between the mechanical, electronic and software domains suggested by mechauonics. In particular, the system must be structured around an architecture which is capable of accommodating a range and variety of machine geometries and operational modes and which is also capable of supporting the associated sensing and safety requirements. The paper outlines one such architecture which has been developed for the control of a robotic excavator and compares it with the architecture adopted for an intelligent paper roll manipulator. Both these architectures are based around a goal oriented approach with the selection and organisation of the individual tasks necessary to achieve the desired goal left to the system. The extension of these architectures to incorporate the safety requirements for operation in an unstructured environment in association with other items of plant and machinery and with humans is also considered along with associated sensing requirements. From these considerations, certain of the problems of achieving the required level of autonomy within the specified environments are identified.