A string-based representation and crossover operator for evolutionary design of dynamical mechanisms

A string-based representation and crossover operator for evolutionary design of dynamical mechanisms

Kuppens, P.R. (TU Delft Mechatronic Systems Design)
Wolfslag, W.J. (TU Delft Learning & Autonomous Control)

2018

Robots would perform better when their mechanical structure is specifically designed for their designated task, for instance by adding spring mechanisms. However, designing such mechanisms, which match the dynamics of the robot with the task, is hard and time consuming. To assist designers, a platform that automatically designs dynamical mechanisms is needed. This letter introduces a novel string-based representation for mechanisms, including evolutionary operators, that allows an evolutionary algorithm to automatically design dynamical mechanisms for a designated task. The mechanism representation allows simultaneous optimization of topology and parameters. Simulation experiments investigate various algorithms to obtain best optimization performance. We show the efficacy of the representation, operators, and evolutionary algorithm by designing mechanisms that track straight lines and ellipses by virtue of both their kinematic and dynamic properties.

dynamics
Mechanism design
optimal control
optimization

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:581ece88-c8c9-4455-81d4-856de2be2caa

https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2018.2800102

2018-07-31

2377-3766

IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 3 (3), 1600-1607

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2018 P.R. Kuppens, W.J. Wolfslag