Fault Classification in Robotic Arm with Ensemble Based Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning

Abstract

To maintain high efficiency and reduce operational downtime in industrial manufacturing, effective Predictive Maintenance (PdM) for robotic manipulators is essential. Although combining Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning (MAML) with digital twin technology offers a solid basis for quickly identifying faults, conventional methods often face challenges regarding parameter sensitivity and generalizing to new domains. To mitigate these issues, we introduce an ensemble-based metalearning framework that combines MAML with majority voting and operational grouping. This methodology improves generalization, stabilizes performance across diverse conditions, and strengthens few-shot learning capabilities. We validated the framework using a synthetic vibration dataset generated via a digital twin to simulate various robotic arm faults. Our findings demonstrate that this method achieves 93.8% accuracy and 93.1% precision in the ten-shot regime, outperforming the MAML baseline by 11.1%, across a broad range of mechanical faults, showing strength in cross-domain few-shot (CDFS) scenarios. Comparisons with established frameworks - including Reptile, Protonet, and ANIL, confirm the effectiveness of our model. By employing ensemble learning, we attain greater robustness and classification accuracy, establishing the method as a viable solution for industrial PdM. Furthermore, the integration of digital twins bridges the gap between simulation and real-world deployment, reducing data dependency and enabling effective fault classification even in dynamic environments with limited labeled data.