ModKin

Welcome to the Modkin project homepage.

Modkin is an academic project funded by the EPSRC and involves the University of Aberdeen and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Modkin is short for `Model based methods for kinematic fault diagnosis and remediation'. The project commenced in 2003 and was motivated by the Beagle 2 Mars lander. The aim of the Beagle 2 project was to search for evidence of past life on Mars. The main interest to this project was a key component on the lander; a robotic arm which was equipped with a mulit-functional end effector containing a set of instruments to examine the Martian surface, sub-surface and nearby rocks. The aim of the Modkin project was to investigate problems that are likely to occur during future remote robot missions, such as Mars sample return.

The Modkin project combines several research fields to achieve its aims. These include:

Modelling of Kinematic Devices
Diagnosis of Autonomous Space Systems
Qualitative Reasoning

This website contains information about the projects undertaken as part of the Modkin project. Please use the menu on the left to navigate the site.