Towards Uniform Normal Force Distribution by Roll and Height Control for a Planetary Rover with Active Suspension

Abstract

The Active suspensions can enhance the locomotive capability of a planetary rover. However, the control strategy of an active suspension system could be more complicated than a passive one. This paper proposes a control algorithm for the planetary rover with an active suspension system, which deals with the issue of the normal force distribution among wheels by adjusting the roll angle and height control of the rover body actively. A kinetostatics analysis is performed in the control system. Then, the rover body’s motion is designed based on the partial derivatives of the Normal Force Dispersion. The proposed control algorithm benefits the mobility and stability of the rover while it traverses uneven and unstructured terrain. The method is applied to a rover prototype. During the experiments, the average Normal Force Dispersion is reduced by 27.4%, and the average Static Stability Margin is increased by 7.8%. These results provide solid validation of the effectiveness of the proposed method.