Research for an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot Using ACROBAT, the Active-caster with a Dual-ball Transmission

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new type of omnidirectional mechanism which includes two balls as a transmitter of the power. The ACROBAT, we call the proposed system like this, is a caster type omnidirectional mechanism. The ACROBAT uses normal rubber tire, which is the different point from conventional omnidirectional robot. In order to determine the best construction of omnidirectional robot with ACROBATs, the efficiency of actuator usage is calculated in this paper. At last, computer simulation and experiments using a prototype are performed on the kinematics of the 3-wheeled robot. We confirm the possibility of ACROBAT system as a driving mechanism without special wheel, complicated control system, and sensing wheel orientation.