# Modular Robotics Configurator: A MATLAB Model-Based Development Approach
###### Abstract
Robots can perform tasks that most humans cannot, such as working in difficult conditions and being able to generate data with the utmost precision [14]. In the past, robots were predominantly used in manufacturing to perform labor-intensive tasks that were hazardous for humans. As robots' capabilities rapidly increased, they were used for routine tasks that required speed, agility, and dexterity, such as spot welding, stacking, drilling, cutting, and so on. Today, autonomous cars increasingly incorporate sensors and machine learning, which increase the types of tasks that can be undertaken. Therefore, robots can be used for a growing number of activities within firms, including transporting goods, assessing quality, testing products, and so on. One of the main reasons that firms adopt robots is their performance in terms of productivity and therefore production. Usually, robots can work continuously and perform functions 24 h a day [15]. In recent years, an increasing emphasis on the modularity of robots has emerged, generating them with the help of command-and-control software. There is a wide range of software that allows the generation and analysis of robots and the possibility of manipulating their individual components. Computer modeling, simulation, and implementation tools have been widely used to support and develop nonlinear control, robotics, and MATLAB/Simulink courses. MATLAB, with its toolboxes, such as Simulink, is one of the most widely accepted software packages and is used by researchers to enhance teaching regarding the transient and steady-state characteristics of control and robotics [16]. In Industry 4.0, robots are regarded as one of the key components. In recent years, collaborative robots (cobots) have risen in relevance and have been included in the industry to perform tasks alongside humans [17]. The digital era necessitates robotic automation, which utilizes intelligent automation technologies to streamline processes and execute tasks according to predetermined programs, thus automating the process. The adoption of robotic process automation fosters significant increases in productivity and efficiency across various sectors [18]. From the point of view of robot producers, such unprecedented diffusion has necessitated the development of innovative safety features, aimed at making the use of cobots increasingly secure and accessible to the wider public [19]. In the era of rapid development and prototyping, limitations like multiple software programs used in the calculation and generation of robots, multiple debugging activities, and different software with different language programs make development activities difficult. The need to know the connections between such tools can lead to higher effort and the higher consumption of resources and time to solve errors, as compared to the necessary investments for development and creation. The increased amount of knowledge required, together with the large number of tools, makes development activities more challenging for the user. Starting with these, this paper aims to develop a user-oriented application that will help a user to configure serial robots in an environment, being guided step by step throughout its use. Considering the computing power and the vast engineering functionalities of the MATLAB Simulink software, MATLAB is the software that the authors propose to use as the source program in the development of this functionality. In this paper, the main goal is to develop a new modular and compact Simulink function, using the model-based development technique, where the user can configure serial robots starting from the number of kinematic couples, the specific type of movement, the geometric parameters, and the generalized coordinates of each component. After calculating the kinematic couplings and determining the configuration of the serial robot, the end-effector will be attached.