Robotics and Mechatronics Center

The Robotics and Mechatronics Center (RMC) is a cluster and DLR’s competence center for research and development in the areas of robotics, mechatronics, and optical systems.Mechatronics is the closest integration of mechanics, electronics and information technology for the realization of “intelligent mechanisms” which interact with their environment. The core competence of RMC is the interdisciplinary (virtual) design, computer-aided optimization and simulation, as well as implementation of complex mechatronic systems and human-machine interfaces. In the robotics community, the center is considered as one of the world leading institutions.

The application of technology and systems developed in the cluster are focusing primarily on the programmatic tasks in the research areas space, aeronautics, and transport. The developed technologies have direct impact and applications in other societal areas such as medical robotics, factory of the future, and personal robot assistance. Technology transfer is a major goal of RMC.

Departments of the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics (Head: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerd Hirzinger)

Robotic Systems (Head of the Department: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerd Hirzinger)

The long-term goal of our robotics activities has always been based on the idea of relieving man from inhuman and dangerous tasks. While in the early years of robotics in our department the main focus of interest has been restricted to designing robot sensors (and sensor-based man-machine interfaces) and closing smart sensory feedback loops, in the last years the activities have widened up considerably. Presently the general goal is the design of a new generation of multisensory light-weight robots for space applications which are operable by astronauts as well as from groundstations, based on powerful telerobotic concepts and man-machine-interfaces.

System Dynamics and Control (Head of the Department: Dr. Johann Bals)

The System Dynamics and Control Department of the DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics is responsible for advancing the state-of-the-art in system dynamics and control technologies for high-performance mechatronic systems in aerospace, robotics and ground vehicle application. The increasing requirements on higher performance, improved comfort, safety, lower energy consumption, etc. for innovative technical products urge the need for better dynamics and control methods and tools of practical value.

Optical Information Systems

The department of Optical Systems is divided in optical sensing / electronics (Head: Dr. Andreas Eckardt), data processing optical information systems (Head: Dr. Anko Börner), and sensor concepts and applications (Head: Frank Lehmann) and is located in Berlin.

The DLR crawler explores and maps antonomously its envirinment

Perception und Cognition (Head of Department: Dr. Ing. Michael Suppa)

The Department of Perception und Cognition develops solutions to enable a wholistic perception of robotic systems using the two predominant robot senses vision and tactility. Perception and cognition are elementary components for tele-operated, and autonomous robot systems, due to the fact that they enable reactive behaviour, attention-based control and interpretation of situations

Autonomy and Teleoperation (Head of Department: Christoph Borst)

The Department of Autonomy and Teleoperation works on the planning and execution of movements on multi-arm robotic systems with many degrees of freedom. The field of interest varies from simple motion primitives to the execution of complex manipulation tasks with robotic arms and hands.Fundamental techniques for programming and controlling robot motions on flexible, efficient and distributed computing platforms under hard real-time conditions are also investigated

Mechatronic Component and Systems (Heads of Department: Dr. Ing. Alin Albu-Schäffer, Markus Grebenstein)

Main objective of the department is the development and control of highly integrated, high performance, yet dexterous robots in terms of the “soft robotics philosophy” of the institute focusing mainly on manipulation and locomotion in space and terrestrial applications. Medium and long-term goal is to enable effective and cost-efficient operation and exploration in space using robotic systems as well as the transfer of the evolving technologies to terrestrial applications.

Structure

The Robotics and Mechatronics Center (RMC) is a cluster formed by three institutes with key research areas for inter-institutional cooperations.

The institutes are:

Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics (Director Dr. Alin Albu-Schäffer)
Institute for Systemdynamics and Control (Acting Director Dr. Johann Bals)
Institute for Optical Sensor Systems (Acting Director Prof. Dr. Tilman Spohn)

Key research areas

Space robotics

Spaceflight is the incitement to develop advanced robotic systems within the Robotics and Mechatronics Center (RMC). Robots play a dominant role in the exploration and conquest of our outer space. Compared to human beings they can adapt much better to the extreme condi-tions encountered in free space and on celestial bodies like moons, planets or even asteroids. This enables robots perfectly to set up robotic outposts and hence to pioneer the interplanetary manned space flight. RMC has a long tradition in space robotics research and developments, specifically in near-Earth or orbital applications. Outstanding examples of great success are: ROTEX (1993), GETEX (1998) and ROKVISS (2003-2010). Worldwide, RMC has currently the most experience on this space robotics area.

Terrestrial assistive robotics

One of the main goals of the highly intergrated robotic systems that are developed at the Robotics and Mechatronics Center is a seamless, semiautonomous integration with man, in which "soft robotics", i.e. the compliant and safe behaviour of a robotic system is central. These principles are key in the development of assistive and prosthetic devices. Novel, bimanual mobile production assistants will play a prominent role in developed countries production processes, while elderly care is of ever increasing importance. In this Key Research Area we study and approach these princinples from a human biological point of view.

Medical assistance systems

In the interdepartmental research area of Medical Assistance Systems, findings in space and service robotics are reinterpreted and transferred to the field of medicine. Core technologies like efficient drives, mechatronics, telerobotics, sensors and planning systems are relevant to space applications as well as to technical systems in medicine. These technologies are researched and applied to the two main topics: medical robotics and active implants.

Flying robots

The key research area Flying Robots covers the three main domains of the Robotics and Mechatronics Center – Aeronautics, Space Robotics, and Optical Information Systems – in order to exploit synergies in the development of robotics technologies for autonomous flying platforms. The spectrum of our work ranges from low-level control and sensor data processing to mission planning and execution. We have been working on general problems for autonomous systems taking into account special issues related to flying platforms and their applications.

Links

Automatica 2012