class module

An object representing part of a robot.

Inheritance:

Public Fields

static int currentID

a counter used to give each module a unique identifier

static const tmatrix connectionRotation

the rotation applied to a connector when connecting two modules

configuration* cfg

pointer to configuration

int ref

index of module in cfg's module list

char* name

(optional) name to distinguish it within a configuration

bool isPrototype

true if used for instantiating only

handedness whichSide

indicates left/right for some modules

module* parent

parent module; only set if !isPrototype

assembly* as

assembly of module's parts

ptrList* params

list of parameters

ptrList* attachments

list of attachments

cptrList* components

list of components

const componentContext* context

components for parameters

Public Methods

Virtual methods.

convenience functions

inline const ptrList* getDependencies(int whichParam)

returns a list of dependencies (if any) for the indicated parameter.

Public Members

enum subType

Indicates the general type of module:

• BASE - the module is specialized to represent a fixed or mobile robot base.
  enum handedness
  Indicates the handedness of a module.

Protected Methods

void assignConnectorIDs(void)

Inherited from synObject:

Public Fields

static int staticClassID

int objectID

int verboseLevel

Public Methods

virtual const char* className(void) const

virtual synObject* copy(void) const

virtual int isOfType(int typeNum, int derivedOk)

static int setStaticClassID(void)

virtual int classID(void) const

Documentation

An object representing part of a robot. Overview A module represents part of a robot. A module might represent a robot link, tool, base, or joint of varying complexity: one module class may represent a simple, hollow tube serving as part of a manipulator link, while another may be an entire mobile robot with multiple manipulators. Each module may have one or more parameters which determine the module's properties, such as geometric dimensions or the selection of a motor and gearbox from a list of components. Modules provide an easy way for users and the synthesizer to construct robots.

Module types There are four general types of modules: links, tools, joints, and bases. Links are the least 'special' of modules; they have no special methods. Tools have methods for locating an end-effector's tool control point (TCP), while joints and bases can have active or passive degrees of freedom to allow the robot to move. Tools, joints, and bases all define their own methods, which may be overridden by derived classes. All of the basic module types are abstract base classes; actual modules must be created from derived classes which provide specific methods.

Connecting modules Modules are connected to each other by attachments to form a robot, called a 'configuration'. The attachments are made between connectors on different modules. The configuration's module graph is directed and acyclic, and each module's 'ref' member indicates the index of the module in the configuration's list of modules. A module that has an outgoing attachment is called the parent module of the modules on the other end of the attachment. To force the configuration graph to be directed, every child module must have a higher value of 'ref' than its parent. Each module's list of attachments only includes attachments to children (modules with a higher ref). The the attachment list is sorted by connector ID. Functions which modify configurations & modules should preserve this property.

enum subType

Indicates the general type of module:

• BASE - the module is specialized to represent a fixed or mobile robot base.
• TOOL - the module represents a robot's tool or end-effector
• LINK - the module is an internal link for a robot, and has no degrees of freedom
• JOINT - the module represents one or more robot joints, and adds degrees of freedom to the robot.

enum handedness

Indicates the handedness of a module. Handedness is defined in a class-specific manner: some modules may not use handedness at all, while others will reflect module geometry about an axis depending on the handedness.

• LEFT - the module's geometry should be instantiated in a left-handed way.
• RIGHT - the module's geometry should be instantiated in a left-handed way.
• INHERIT - the handedness of the module's geometry should be inherited from the module's parent.

static int currentID

a counter used to give each module a unique identifier

static const tmatrix connectionRotation

the rotation applied to a connector when connecting two modules

configuration* cfg

pointer to configuration

int ref

index of module in cfg's module list

char* name

(optional) name to distinguish it within a configuration

bool isPrototype

true if used for instantiating only

handedness whichSide

indicates left/right for some modules

module* parent

parent module; only set if !isPrototype

assembly* as

assembly of module's parts

ptrList* params

list of parameters

ptrList* attachments

list of attachments

cptrList* components

list of components

const componentContext* context

components for parameters

Virtual methods.

These methods encapsulate the class-specific properties and capabilities of modules. Many of these methods are pure virtual to force derived classes to override them.

virtual int createGeometry(handedness which) = 0

creates the parts and joints composing the module's geometry

virtual subType type(void) const = 0

indicates the general type (link, tool, base, or joint) of the module

inline virtual int isBase(void) const

convenience function; returns 1 if the module is a base, 0 otherwise

virtual int numParams(void) const = 0

returns the number of parameters

virtual paramSpec* getParamSpec(void) const

(optionally) returns a specification for module parameters

virtual int numConnectors(void) const = 0

returns the number of connectors

virtual connectorSpec* getConnectorSpec(void) const

(optionally) returns a specification for module parameters

virtual int requiresContext(void) const = 0

indicates whether the module uses a component context to select components

virtual const ptrList* compDepTable(void) const

returns a pointer to the component dependency table, if one exists

virtual int addAdditionalIgnoredCDPairs(void)

any links that should be allowed to have collisions (possibly due to the use of a simplified collision detection model should be dealt with here. See the collisionDetector class for more information

virtual int postInstantiationInit(void)

a method called by configuration::init after all modules and the resulting mechanism have been instantiated. Actions such as setting the initial angles of a module's joints can be done in this function.

virtual int hasDynamicConstraints(void)

indicates whether the module has dynamic constraints.

virtual int addDynamicConstraints(void)

creates the module's dynamic constraints (if any)

virtual int enforceConstraints(void)

kinematically enforces the module's constraints

virtual int updateConstraintDynamicValues(void)

allows variables to be updated before evaluting the constraint dynamic equations.

virtual int computeDeflections(ownerSegment* ms, linkForceContext* lf, triple &trans, quaternion &rot)

computes the deflections of a module's links

virtual double checkInternalForces(void)

checks link forces to ensure that breaking strengths aren't exceeded. returns safety factor, or a negative number on error. By default, module::checkInternalForces() returns 10.

component-related functions

convenience functions

inline int numAttachments(void) const

returns the number of attachments to child modules

inline connector* getConnector(int i)

returns the i'th connector

inline param* getParam(int i)

returns the i'th parameter

inline attachment* getAttachment(int i)

returns the i'th attachment

inline int numChildren(void) const

returns the number of children (== number of attachments)

inline const ptrList* getDependencies(int whichParam)

returns a list of dependencies (if any) for the indicated parameter. see src/d2k/db/componentDB.cxx and src/d2k/modules/components.cxx for more information on components.

void assignConnectorIDs(void)

Direct child classes:

toolModule
linkModule
dofModule

Friends:

configuration
int operator==(const module &m1, const module &m2)
int operator != (const module &m1, const module &m2)

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