Methodology for the navigation optimization of a terrain-adaptive unmanned ground vehicle

Eduardo Corral Abad,María Jesús Gómez García,Jesús Meneses Alonso,Juan Carlos García-Prada

doi:10.1177/1729881417752726

Eduardo Corral Abad, María Jesús Gómez García + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/1729881417752726

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Abstract

The goal of this article is to design a navigation algorithm to improve the capabilities of an all-terrain unmanned ground vehicle by optimizing its configuration (the angles between its legs and its body) for a given track profile function. The track profile function can be defined either by numerical equations or by points. The angles between the body and the legs can be varied in order to improve the adaptation to the ground profiles. A new dynamic model of an all-terrain vehicle for unstructured environments has been presented. The model is based on a half-vehicle and a quasi-static approach and relates the dynamic variables of interest for navigation with the topology of the mechanism. The algorithm has been created using a simple equation system. This is an advantage over other algorithms with more complex equations which need more time to be calculated. Additionally, it is possible to optimize to any ground-track-profile of any terrain. In order to prove the soundness of the algorithm developed, some results of different applications have been presented.

Highlights

There has been much interest, and progress, in the subject of exploration using autonomous mobile robots recently
The criterion for optimization can be chosen depending on the desired goal.[26,27,28]
An algorithm for optimizing the torque required and the configuration angles of a unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) as it travels along a certain profile has been presented in this article

Summary

Introduction

There has been much interest, and progress, in the subject of exploration using autonomous mobile robots recently. The advantages of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) compared to normal human-controlled vehicles in complicated and hazardous environments are obvious. The development of unmanned vehicles is one of the main research lines in mechatronics and robotics. The Tallinn University of Technology is working on the design and development of the UGV shown in Figure 1.1,2 This all-terrain 4 Â 4 vehicle has an engine for each of its wheels. The novel aspect of this vehicle is that each wheel is attached to the body by a leg, so that the angle between the latter and the body may vary. The position of the center of mass (CoM) relative to the ground-wheel contacts and the distance between the ground and the body could be modified .[3,4]

Objectives

Conclusion