Method for automatically estimating inertia in a mechanical system

A system for estimating mechanical parameters of a motion system, comprising:

• a memory;
• a processor configured to execute computer-executable components stored on the memory, the computer-executable components comprising:
• a torque command generator configured to generate a torque command signal that varies continuously over time during a testing sequence;
• a velocity monitoring component configured to obtain velocity data representing a velocity of a motion system over time in response to the torque command signal;
• and
• at least one of:
• an inertia component configured to estimate an inertia of the motion system based on the torque command signal and the velocity data, or
• a friction coefficient component configured to estimate a friction coefficient of the motion system based on the torque command signal and the velocity data.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a computer system to perform operations, including:

• generating a torque command signal that varies continuously over time;
• obtaining velocity data from a controlled mechanical system;
• and
• estimating at least one of an inertia or a friction coefficient of the controlled mechanical system based at least in part on the velocity data and the torque command signal.