Design and analysis of a spherical robot based on reaction wheel stabilization

Abstract

In this paper, we present the design of a spherical robot with a high spherical shell to drive-unit mass ratio. A drive unit and a novel shell structure design for the spherical robot are proposed, and reaction wheels are used to reduce the robot’s oscillations. Dynamic models of the spherical robot are established for linear motion and static state by using Lagrange equation. The stability of the robot is studied via simulations in different, such as accelerated state, uniform state, and so on. The results demonstrate the ability of the reaction wheel structure to enhance the robot’s stability.