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A multi-configuration kinematic model for active drive/steer four-wheel robot structures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2015

Edgar A. Martínez-García*
Affiliation:
Institute of Engineering and Technology, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Juárez, Chihuahua, México
Erik Lerín-García
Affiliation:
Institute of Engineering and Technology, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Juárez, Chihuahua, México
Rafael Torres-Córdoba
Affiliation:
Institute of Engineering and Technology, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Juárez, Chihuahua, México
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Summary

In this study, a general kinematic control law for automatic multi-configuration of four-wheel active drive/steer robots is proposed. This work presents models of four-wheel drive and steer (4WD4S) robotic systems with all-wheel active drive and steer simultaneously. This kinematic model comprises 12 degrees of freedom (DOFs) in a special design of a mechanical structure for each wheel. The control variables are wheel yaw, wheel roll, and suspension pitch by active/passive damper systems. The pitch angle implies that a wheel's contact point translates its position over time collinear with the robot's lateral sides. The formulation proposed involves the inference of the virtual z-turn axis (robot's body rotation axis) to be used in the control of the robot's posture by at least two acceleration measurements local to the robot's body. The z-turn axis is deduced through a set of linear equations in which the number of equations is equal to the number of acceleration measurements. This research provides two main models for stability conditions. Finally, the results are sustained by different numerical simulations that validate the system with different locomotion configurations.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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