engineering

Robotino

Robotino is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Robotino rather than just read about it. In short: Robotino is a mobile robot system made by Festo Didactic, and used for educational, training and research purposes. Operation Robotino is based on an omnidirectional drive assembly, which enables the system to roam freely.

Key takeaways

Robotino belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Robotino to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Robotino from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Robotino is a mobile robot system made by Festo Didactic, and used for educational, training and research purposes.

Operation Robotino is based on an omnidirectional drive assembly, which enables the system to roam freely. The robot is controlled by an industry-standard PC system, which is powerful enough to plan routes for fully autonomous driving. Via a WLAN-Link, Robotino can send all sensor readings to an external PC. In the other direction, control commands can be issued by the external PC. This way, control programs can run on the external PC or on Robotino directly. Mixed mode or shared control are also possible. Robotino can be programmed in its “native” programming environment RobotinoView II, which is intended for users with little prior robotics knowledge. The robot can also be programmed in C, C++, Java, .NET, Matlab, Simulink, Labview and Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio.

Hardware The omnidirectional drive consists of three Mecanum wheels, all of which are individually controllable. These wheels are arranged at angles of 120°. Robotino has a bumper sensor around its circumference, infrared distance sensors, a color camera with VGA resolution, optical wheel encoders, power measurement for the entire system and the various motors, as well as a battery voltage monitor. Moreover, as optional additional sensors, Robotino can be equipped with a precise laser scanner, a gyroscope, and an indoor positioning system (created by Evolution Robotics). For signal input and output Robotino has several interfaces:

USB Ethernet 8 digital and 8 analog inputs 8 digital outputs additional motor output for driving high loads additional encoder input Power is supplied by two 12V/5Ah lead-acid batteries or optionally by two 12V/9Ah NiMH batteries.

External links

Robotino at Festo Didactic Robotino wiki Robotino forum

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Robotino

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Robotino claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Robotino before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Robotino ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Robotino

In research: Robotino appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Robotino in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Robotino is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century robots, Educational robots, Robots of Germany, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Robotino outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Robotino in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Robotino means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Robotino out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Robotino in simple terms?

Robotino is a mobile robot system made by Festo Didactic, and used for educational, training and research purposes. Operation Robotino is based on an omnidirectional drive assembly, which enables the system to roam freely.

Why does Robotino matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Robotino?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Robotino.