Modeling of a variable diameter wheeled robot for traversing rough terrain

Abstract

In this paper, a three dimensional model for a variable-diameter wheeled mobile base is introduced which is tailored for modeling locomotion on rough terrain. The motion planning of the introduced model is novel, since the forward motion of the robot is governed by a central rolling disk, while its steering is governed by the lateral shifting of the disk, thus yielding relatively complex equations of motion. To simplify the numerical simulations, new constraint stabilization techniques are developed to transform the Differential Algebraic Equations (DAE) of motion to ordinary differential equations (ODE). Using the developed model, several locomotion simulations are performed to traverse optimal planar trajectories as well as to mitigate bumps or disturbances in the terrain.