MOBILE ROBOT DESIGN

 MOBILE ROBOT CONTROL

 BALANCING ROBOT
 WALKING ROBOT

 CONCEPTS OF MOBILE ROBOT DRIVING DESIGN

 SINGLE WHEEL DRIVE
 DIFFERENTIAL DRIVE
 ACKERMANN STERING
 OMNI-DIRECTIONAL DRIVE

 MOBILE ROBOT DRIVING METHODS

 DIFFERENTIAL DRIVE
 OMNI-DIRECTIONAL DRIVE
 Self-balancing robot is a two-wheeled robot
which balances itself so that it prevents itself
from falling.
 This concept is somewhat similar to the
operation of a unicycle, the rider of the
unicycle balances by moving himself in the
same direction of the inclination.
 An inverted pendulum is a pendulum that has its center of mass above its pivot
point. It is unstable and without additional help will fall over.
 The principle of creating a two wheeled self-
balancing robot is similar to the inverted pendulum
principle.
 When a tilt from the equilibrium occurs the motors
will generate a torque that drives the wheels in the
same direction as the tilt, the wheels will move the
same distance as the centre of gravity in order to
maintain balance.
 To enable the robot to move forward a joystick will
be used to accelerate and change direction of the
robot.
 In order to achieve forward movement the angle set
point will be increased, changing the equilibrium
point.
 This will lead to the wheels constantly moving in the
same direction as the lean of the robot to maintain
the angle set point
 To balance a robot, several sensors need to be used. Among of them are tilt
sensors, inclinometers, accelerometers, gyroscopes, and ultrasonic sensor.

Tilt sensor
Tilt sensors allow you to detect orientation or
inclination. They are small, inexpensive, low-power
and easy-to-use. If used properly, they will not
wear out. Their simplicity makes them popular for
toys, gadgets and appliances.
Gyroscope
The gyroscope modifies a servo control signal by
an amount proportional to its measure of angular
velocity. Instead of using the gyro to control a
servo, we read back the modified servo signal to
obtain a measurement of angular velocity. An
estimate of angular displacement is obtained by
integrating the velocity signal over time.

Accelerometer
These sensors output an analog signal,
proportional to the acceleration in the direction of
the sensor’s axis of sensitivity. Mounting two
acceleration sensors at 90° angles means that we
can measure the translational acceleration
experienced by the sensors in the plane through
which the robot moves. Since gravity provides a
significant component of this acceleration, we are
able to estimate the orientation of the robot.
 Inclinometer
An inclinometer is used to support the gyroscope.
Although the inclinometer cannot be used alone
because of its time lag, it can be used to reset the
software integration of the gyroscope data when
the robot is close to resting in an upright position.

Ultrasonic sensor
The ultrasonic sensor is used to read the distance
to the ground and command the servos to move
until the distance becomes equal to the preset
value for a perfect balance.
 Walking robots are an important alternative to driving robots, since
the majority of the world’s land area is unpaved.
 Although driving robots are more specialized and better adapted to
flat surfaces –they can drive faster and navigate with higher
precision – walking robots can be employed in more general
environments.
 Walking robots follow nature by being able to navigate rough
terrain, or even climb stairs or over obstacles in a standard
household situation, which would rule out most driving robots.
 They use their legs to control their locomotion, They are used to
offer movement in highly unstructured environments, Although they
are complex to design, they have a greater edge over wheeled
robots in terms of navigation on any kind of path or terrain
 Legged robots are more versatile than wheeled robots, they can
traverse many terrains, They can imitate legged animals, such as
humans or insects, in an example of biomimicry.
 Legged robots are indispensable for most applications, such as One-legged robots,
two-legged robots, three-legged robots, four-legged robots, six-legged robots and
multi-legged robots.
 Six-legged robots (hexapods) offer greater stability than bipedal or quadrupedal robots,
They have 6 legs, Their final designs mimic the mechanics of insects, and their gaits may be
categorized similarly, These include the slowest wave gait, where pairs of legs move in a
“wave” from the back to the front, Tripod gait which is a slightly faster step, where three legs
move at once, The remaining three legs offer a stable tripod for the robot.
 They can move either by moving each pair of leg in a consecutive manner or moving
alternate legs of each pair, Six-legged robots include Odex that has onboard computers that
control each leg, Genghis is one of the earliest autonomous six-legged robots, and the
modern toy series, the Ohio State University (OSU) Hexapod, OSU Adaptive Suspension
Vehicle (ASV) etc.
 Hexapods (Six-legged robots) offer greater static stability while moving and standing, They
can be perfectly stable on just three legs, the remaining legs of the hexapod robot offer a
great deal of flexibility and increases its capabilities, they are used to test various biological
theories about insect locomotion and motor control, Hexapod robots deploy various
different types of gaits to make a move.
 Four-legged robots are also called Quadruped robots “Big Dog”, They are developed to
traverse difficult terrain, They can exhibit quadrupedal motion, They can benefit from
increased stability over two-legged robots, especially during movement, They can
benefit from a lower center of gravity than two-legged systems, In contrast to tripedal
robots, four-legged robots are more popular, They use the alternating technique (in
pairs) to walk.
 Quadrupedal robots (Tetrapod robots) are statically stable, especially when they are not
in motion, they have 4 legs and their walking pattern similar to that of animals, they are
well balanced in posture, At slow speeds, They can move either by moving one leg at a
time, ensuring a stable tripod or moving the alternate pair of legs to walk, Four-legged
robots include: The TITAN series, WildCat, Cheetah and the dynamically stable BigDog.
 Three-legged robots are statically stable, there are three contact points to the
ground, Tripodal robots are well balanced, they can stand without toppling over,
Tripodal robots such as STRIDER (Self Excited Tripodal Dynamic Experimental
Robot) from RoMeLa.

They are inspired by spiders & other arachnids, as well as some underwater walkers, They
offer the greatest stability that enables some early successes with legged robots, Eight-
legged robots such as Dante, a Carnegie Mellon University project designed to explore Mount
Erebus, The T8X, a commercially available robot designed to emulate a spider’s appearance
and movements.
 Two-legged robots (Bipedal robots) can exhibit bipedal motion, Stability is maintained by
calculating each step and moving the weight in a well-defined way, but they face two
primary problems: stability control that refers to the robot’s balance, and motion control
that refers to the robot’s ability to move, Bipedal robot has 2 legs, and the classical example
is the Humanoid robot.
 Two-legged robots must maintain balance in the forward-backward direction even at rest,
Some robots solve this problem with large feet that offer greater stability while reducing
mobility, more advanced systems use sensors such as accelerometers or gyroscopes to
present dynamic feedback that approximates the human being’s balance, sensors can be
used for motion control & walking.
 Two-legged robots can be used in the same human working environment without making
any changes, they are designed to imitate human behaviour, Two-legged robot are
dynamically stable and require complex control algorithms to balance them when
standing, Two-legged robots include Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, Toy robots such as QRIO,
Honda’s ASIMO, NASA’s Valkyrie robot and The ping-pong playing TOPIO robot.
 There are several ways of driving mobile robots. They are:

Differential drive
Ackermann steering

Single wheel drive

Omni-directional drive
 Having a single wheel that is both driven
and steered is the simplest conceptual
design for a mobile robot.
 This design also requires two passive
caster wheels in the back, since three
contact points are always required. Linear
velocity and angular velocity of the robot
are completely decoupled.
 So for driving straight, the front wheel is
positioned in the middle position and
driven at the desired speed. For driving in Driving and rotation of single wheel drive
a curve, the wheel is positioned at an
angle matching the desired curve.

single wheel.mp4
 This is the most common control mechanism for
robot builders, especially for beginners.
 The concept is simple; Velocity difference
between two motors drive the robot in any
required path and direction.
 Hence the name “Differential” drive. Differential
wheeled robot can have two independently driven
wheels fixed on a common horizontal axis or three
wheels where two independently driven wheels
and a roller ball or a castor attached to maintain
equilibrium.
There are three fundamental cases which can happen in a
differential wheeled robot:
 If the angular velocities are identical in terms of both
values and direction, i.e. if both the wheels are driven at the
same speed and same direction (either clockwise or
anticlockwise) then the robot tends to spin around its
vertical axis. This complete turn capability is one of the
greatest advantages of a differentially driven robot (a.k.a
zero radius turn).
If the angular velocities are identical in terms of values and
opposite in direction, i.e. if both the wheels are driven in
the same speed but in the opposite direction (One
clockwise and other anticlockwise) then the robot is more
likely to follow a linear path, either forward or backward
based on the motors spin.
If the angular velocities are different in terms of values
(same or different direction), i.e. if the wheels are driven at
different speeds in the same direction or opposite
direction, then the robot makes a curve motion. Lastly, if
one of the wheels rotate and the other stays still then the differential wheeled robot.mp4
robot almost makes a 90° turn. Manipulating the drive
speed and direction can give some interesting drive paths.
 One of the most common configurations found in cars is
Ackerman steering which mechanically coordinates the
angle of two front wheels which are fixed on a common
axle used for steering and two rear wheels fixed on
another axle for driving.
 To overcome that drawback Ackerman steering is
designed in such a way that when there is a turn, the inner
tire turns with a greater angle than the outer tire and
avoids tire slippage.
 This approach can be generally used for fast outdoor
robots which require excellent ground clearance and
traction. Although there are disadvantages, the downside is
additional parts required; no zero radii turn and increased
complexity in design.
Ackerman steering.mp4
 Omni directional robots are built using Omni wheels
and/or castors.
 Since Omni wheels have smaller wheels attached
perpendicular to the circumference of another bigger
wheel, they allow wheels to move in any direction
instantly.
 The major advantage is that they do not need to rotate
or turn to move in any direction unlike other designs.
 In other words, they are Holonomic robots and can
move in any direction without changing the orientation
 Generally Omni wheeled robots use either a three
wheeled platform or a four wheeled platform
Omni Directional Drive.mp4
3 Wheel design 4 Wheel design
 A three wheel design offers greater  In 4 wheel design, 4 Omni wheels are
traction as any reactive force is attached at 90° to each other.
distributed through only three points
and the robot is well balanced even on  This means any two wheels are parallel to
uneven terrain.
each other and other two wheels
 This design also reduces an additional perpendicular.
wheel compared to a 4 wheeled robot
which makes it cost effective (yes, these  The first and the major benefit is the
wheels are expensive). simplified calculation.
 In few instances, I have see that  Since there are two pairs of wheels, each
designing a three wheeled Omni robot
is simpler and can drive more straight pair requires only one calculation and all
than a four wheeled robot, although I four wheels require only two calculations.
would still vote for a 4 wheeled robot
 Also at any point there are two driving
wheels and two free wheels. This makes
the two driving wheels 100% efficient
and drivers the robot at higher speed
compared to 3-wheel design.