Kinematic Range of Motion Analysis for a High Degree-of-Freedom Unmanned Ground Vehicle

摘要

The requirement for increased mobility of unmanned ground vehicles operating in urban settings must be addressed if robotic technology is to augment human efforts in military relevant roles and environments. In preparation for this role, Defence R&D Canada - Suffield is exploring novel mobility platforms that use intelligent mobility algorithms to improve robot mobility in unknown highly complex terrain. The Autonomous Intelligent Systems Section at Defence R&D Canada - Suffield commissioned the development of a high degree-of-freedom robot for control algorithm development. The Micro Hydraulic Toolkit vehicle is a hydraulicallydriven vehicle with modular structural and actuator components. This modularity allows for the selection of many different degree-of-freedom configurations for the vehicle. The focus of this paper is to present a range of motion analysis for five different vehicle configurations. The objective of conducting this analysis is to determine the maximum height the wheel can achieve from the ground for each of the selected vehicle configurations. The maximum achievable wheel height will provide the foundation for research into the most advantageous vehicle configuration for obstacle traversing. The homogeneous transformation is used to calculate the vehicle's range of motion and is displayed in a planar graphical plot. This data reveals the maximum attainable wheel height of the vehicle given a level main body. Further calculations reveal the maximum wheel height with an inclined body.