It is critical that machines operating in challenging environments perform reliably. A breakdown not only results in loss of performance, but it can also result in added risk to human safety.
Most robots operating in challenging environments are hydraulic.
This makes the hydraulic fluid the driving force of the system, or the component most critical for reliable operation. If the hydraulic fluid is faulty, the system will not perform correctly. Hydraulic robot manipulators are considered to be at the super critical level of contamination sensitivity. Oil condition monitoring for extremely sensitive systems, such as robotic ma nipulators, needs to be done on-line and in real time in order to prevent any damage to the components due to fluid contamination. Extensive filtering can control the size of particles allowed to flow through a system, but knowledge of the size and distribution of particles can indicate a probable failure in a system component.