Motion control of a novel spherical robot equipped with a flywheel

Abstract

An omni-directional rolling spherical robot equipped with a high-rate flywheel (BYQ-V) is presented, the gyroscopic effects of high-rate flywheel can further enhance the dynamic stability of the spherical robot. This robot is designed for territory or lunar exploration in the future. The mechanical structure and control system of the robot are given particularly. Using the constrained Lagrangian method, the simplified dynamic model of the robot is derived under some assumptions, Moreover, a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller and Percentage Derivative (PD) controller are designed to implement the pose and velocity control of the robot respectively, Finally, the dynamic model and the controllers are validated through simulation study and prototype experiment.