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Kinematics-Based Simulation and Animation of Articulated Rovers Traversing Uneven Terrains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2019

Mahmoud Tarokh Open the ORCID record for Mahmoud Tarokh [Opens in a new window]  and
Huy Dang Ho
Mahmoud Tarokh*
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA E-mail: danghuyho@yahoo.com
Huy Dang Ho
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA E-mail: danghuyho@yahoo.com
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: mtarokh@sdsu.edu
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Summary

The paper develops a simulation and animation environment for high-mobility rovers based on kinematic modeling. Various kinematic chains starting from the rover body to the wheels are analyzed and aggregated to obtain the model of the rover body motion in terms of the wheel motions. This model is then used to determine the actuations of the joints, wheels speed, and steering motors to achieve a desired motion of the rover over uneven terrain while avoiding loss of balance and tip-over. The simulation environment consists of a number of modules, including terrain and trajectory generation, and kinematic models for rover actuation and navigation. The animation of the rover motion over various terrains is developed, which allows observing the rover from various viewpoints and interacting with the system through a graphical user interface. The performance of the overall system is demonstrated by modeling a high-mobility space exploration rover, and the responses of the rover on uneven terrains are provided, which show the usefulness of the proposed modeling, simulation, and animation scheme.

Keywords

Rover motion simulationRover kinematic modelingRover animation
Type
Articles
Information
Robotica , Volume 37 , Issue 6 , June 2019 , pp. 1057 - 1072
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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