KINEMATICS OF ROBOTS WITH ROLLER-CONSTRAINED BALL-WHEELS

摘要

We report on the kinematics of wheeled mobile robots (WMR) with ball-wheels, and highlight their functional properties. To meet the fundamental requirements for the functioning of ball-wheels, the translational form-closure should be imposed on each ball to capture the ball without relying upon the ground. A set of symmetrical configurations of contact points is proposed. The relation between the twist of the platform of the WMR and the independent joint rates is obtained.