Best Practice
Considering Non-functional Requirements
Energy consumption is a significant challenge in actuated systems, particularly in mobile or wearable solutions which must be self-contained. Today’s shape-changing interfaces are usually tethered; if mobile, they typically use large batteries or have short battery life-spans that would be prohibitive in realistic use settings. Safety and Compliance are also significant challenges to address before placing actuated objects in users’ hands. Robotics researchers are now moving beyond traditional robotic arms, wheeled platforms and humanoids to explore a wide variety of different form factors, especially influenced by the goal of bringing robots out of the industrial setting into closer proximity to humans.