Program Overview

Program Overview

The Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics offers a Master's program in Robotic Systems Engineering. The program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and applications of robotics, mechanism theory, and machine dynamics.

Learning Objectives

The program aims to equip students with the following skills and knowledge:

• Apply trigonometric functions for the solution of common tasks from machine dynamics, mechanism theory, and robotics.
• Perform basic operations of vectors and matrices quickly and understand the geometrical meaning of these operations.
• Apply methods from linear algebra for the solution of linear equation systems from machine dynamics, mechanism theory, and robotics.
• Understand the concept of Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors.
• Understand the different meanings of rotations.
• Know different possibilities to represent rotations mathematically and their respective advantages and disadvantages.
• Use the mathematical representations of rotations for the solution of common tasks from machine dynamics, mechanism theory, and robotics.
• Understand the difference between rotations and homogenous transformations and their mathematical description.
• Use the mathematical representations of homogenous transformations for the solution of common tasks from machine dynamics, mechanism theory, and robotics.
• Distinguish between different kinds of mechanisms.
• Know the general elements of mechanisms and their relationship to the motion of the mechanism.
• Understand the relationship between mechanisms theory and the kinematics of robots.
• Know the basic procedures of mechanism analysis and the relationship to the design of robots.
• Apply methods from mechanism theory to common tasks from robotics.
• Model dynamic systems based on given technical systems such as robots.
• Have a basic understanding of oscillations and stability for single and multiple-degree-of-freedom systems.
• Apply knowledge from machine dynamics to common tasks from robotics.

Course Content

The program covers the following topics:

Mathematics

• Trigonometry: properties of the trigonometric functions, identities and inverse functions, half-angle-method.
• Applied linear algebra: basic concepts of vectors and matrices, vector products and geometrical applications, vector spaces, systems of linear equations.
• Mathematical representations of rotations and homogenous transformations: Euler-angles, roll-pitch-yaw convention, angle-axis-convention, rotation matrices, quaternions, homogenous transformations.

Mechanism Theory

• Classification of mechanisms according to dimension, application, main-link features.
• Joint variants and mobility of mechanisms.
• Mechanism analysis.
• Velocities and accelerations in mechanisms.

Machine Dynamics

• Modelling of dynamic systems.
• Discrete single-degree-of-freedom systems.
• Discrete multiple-degree-of-freedom systems.

Key Information

• Degree: Master.
• Semesters: Summer semester.
• Organizational Unit: Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics.
• Lecturer: Raphael Cleven M.Sc. RWTH.
• Language: English.