A universal approach for configuration synthesis of reconfigurable robots based on fault tolerant indices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a universal approach for configuration synthesis of reconfigurable robots based on fault tolerant indices. Design/methodology/approach – A universal approach is introduced to determine the best configuration of redundant reconfigurable robots based on fault tolerant indices. For a given task, a method based on genetic algorithm for evaluation on the index, fault tolerant workspace reachability, is employed first to search the robot configurations with the fault tolerant ability for the desired task. Then, among the obtained robot configurations, a method based on gradient projection algorithm is adopted to further find out the robot configuration that has the comparatively best fault tolerant operation dexterity. The validity of this approach is proved by conducting computational simulations. Findings – A universal approach has been found for configuration synthesis of reconfigurable robots based on fault tolerant indices. Originality/value – The paper introduces a universal approach for configuration synthesis of reconfigurable robots to not only guarantee the robot with the synthesized configuration possesses the fault tolerant ability for the given task, but also has relatively high fault tolerant operation dexterity.