Mechanical design of a differential drive mobile robot platform

Abstract

Mobile robotics science has been influenced by developments in electronics and software sciences and it has reached significant levels in the last 50 years. This study aims to present the design of an indoor mobile robot platform (MAVI-BOT). The platform consists of a chassis made of aluminum, a 2D light detection and ranging sensor (LIDAR), an inertial measurement unit (IMU), an infra-red camera and a LED projection, and an industrial PC. The platform, based on the differential drive model, has a 2-wheel drive. The active wheels are pneumatic and the third wheel is positioned as a rubber-filled caster. A study was also carried out to identify the actuators that met the given dynamic criteria. Real-time applications made on the developed wheeled mobile robot (WMR) are discussed. Keywords: Actuator; LIDAR; MAVI-BOT; Mobile robot; mechanical design.