Modeling of a Mobile Manipulator with the Use of Kane's Dynamical Equations

Abstract

A wheeled mobile manipulator system is modelled using Kane's dynamical equations of motion. Kane's dynamical equations are constructed with minimum labor, are control oriented and provide both physical insight and fast simulations. Such a system is subject to nonholonomic constraints, which were traditionally expressed on the kinematic level, on which, however, there is no guarantee that the model will still be valid when slipping or skidding phenomena occur. In this paper, nonholonomic constraints are modelled in a dynamic level. This way the constraints can be better merged with Kane's dynamic equations of motion and provide the control designer with real ability to enforce them on the system.