Improving robustness of mobile robots using model-based reasoning

Retaining functionality of a mobile robot in the presence of faults is of particular interest in autonomous robotics. From our experiences in robotics we know that hardware is one of the weak points in mobile robots. In this paper we present the foundations of a system that automatically monitors the driving device of a mobile robot. In case of a detected fault, e.g., a broken motor, the system automatically reconfigures the robot in order to still allow to reach a certain position. The described system is based on a generalized model of the motion hardware. High-level control like path-planner only to change its behavior in case of a serious damage. The high-level control system remains the same. In the paper we present the model and the foundations of the diagnosis and reconfiguration system.