ROBOTRAN

This contribution presents the main features of the ROBOTRAN programme. This programme, based on d’Alembert Potential Power Principle, permits to derive, in symbolic form, the equations of motion of mechanical systems which can be represented by a set of rigid bodies, interconnected by one degree of freedom joints; it has important applications in the fields of robotics and vehicle dynamics. The variables of the system are the generalized variables of the various joints — linear displacement for prismatic joints and angular rotation for revolute joints. Constraints can be considered and in particular those resulting from loops of bodies can be generated by means of an auxiliary programme, CINEMA. The Lagrange multipliers technique permits to derive the complete set of equations of motion; a system reduction via the elimination of these multipliers and a coordinate partioning method is possible. The obtained programme can be used as a sub-routine for any desired application such as numerical integration, stability analysis, control design, numerical linearization, eigenvalues determination.