A Barycenter Control Method for the Bioinspired Forest Chassis Robot on Slope

Tingting Sui,Jianli Wang,Jianting Zhang,Jinhao Liu,Oscar Reinoso

doi:10.1155/2021/5528746

Tingting Sui, Jianli Wang + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5528746

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Abstract

To improve the stability of forestry chassis on the slope, a chassis-installed barycenter adjustable mechanism (BAM) is designed, and the control method of the counterweight is proposed to make the chassis barycenter move suitably to achieve the design purpose. The kinematic analysis of BAM is carried out, and the relationship between the translation, rotation, and vertical displacement of counterweight and the chassis barycenter is calculated. Furthermore, the variation curves obtained in Matlab show the barycenter can translate 100 mm, rotate from 0 to 360 degrees, and lower about 180 mm in the vertical direction. Adams is adopted to complete the kinematics simulation of the chassis, indicating that the control method can effectively adjust the barycenter position. Finally, experiments are carried out under slope conditions to analyze chassis stability by testing plantar pressure. The results show that forest chassis using the barycenter control method helps keep stable on the slope of 15 degrees, much better than standard normal chassis.

Highlights

It is a standard method to add a barycenter adjustment mechanism to assist the control of the whole machine’s barycenter, such as the counterweight used in the construction site and the inertial flywheel to adjust the attitude of the satellite
When the hind limbs are pushed off the ground, the vertical distance of the trunk barycenter’s vertical distance relative to the hind hooves is about 48 cm, and the horizontal distance is about 38 cm [24]. e research shows that goats can keep their body stable by adjusting the barycenter all the time when passing through complex terrain
Inspired by the barycenter adjustment of goats passing complex terrain, this paper proposes a bionic chassis installed barycenter adjustable mechanism (BAM) based on the auxiliary effect of goat head and neck on barycenter adjustment

Summary

Introduction

It is a standard method to add a barycenter adjustment mechanism to assist the control of the whole machine’s barycenter, such as the counterweight used in the construction site and the inertial flywheel to adjust the attitude of the satellite. Like cheetahs, when a cat falls or jumps from a height, it can adjust its body posture by swinging its tail quickly to ensure its balance [14]. Goats can adjust the barycenter position using the head, neck, and other physiological structures. Combined with many factors, including a large proportion of forelimbs, slightly lower forebody, long neck, and developed shoulder muscle tissue, it is helpful for goats to climb or pass through complex terrain. Inspired by the barycenter adjustment of goats passing complex terrain, this paper proposes a bionic chassis installed barycenter adjustable mechanism (BAM) based on the auxiliary effect of goat head and neck on barycenter adjustment. Based on the stability margin, a new method to adjust the chassis barycenter is proposed, realized by changing the BAM’s parameters. Based on the model drawings and simulation results, the prototype is manufactured and experiments are conducted. e results prove the validity of the structure and method

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