In recent years there has been a significant increase in the variety and complexity of Articulated-Multi-Body-Systems (AMBS) used in various applications. There is also increased interest in the model-based design-refinement and controller-development, which is critically dependent upon availability of underlying plant-models. Kinematic and dynamic plant-models for AMBSs can be formulated by systematic application of physics postulates. This process, in its various variants, forms the basis of various mechanisms/robotics courses. However, the type and complexity of the example systems is often limited by the tractability of first generating and subsequently analyzing complex equations-of-motion. Nevertheless, using simpler examples alone may sometimes fail to capture important physical phenomena (e.g. gyroscopic, coriolis). Hence, we examine the use of some contemporary symbolic- and numeric-computation tools to assist with the automated symbolic equation generation and subsequent analysis. We examine a host of examples beginning with simple pendulum, double pendulum; building up to intermediate examples like the four-bar mechanism and finally examine the implementation of 3-PRR and 3-RRR planar parallel platform mechanisms. The principal underlying philosophy of our effort is to establish linkage between traditional modeling approaches and use of these contemporary tools. We also try to make a case for use of automatic symbolic computation and manipulation as a means for enhancing understanding of both basic and advanced AMBS concepts. Lastly, we document our efforts towards creation of self-paced tutorials and case-studies that serve to showcase the benefits.

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