Modelling and Analysis Methods and Tools to Support Mobile Robotics Design and Control

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Wheeled mobile robots operating on unstructured terrain play an important role in many applications. This project aims at the development of advanced methods, models, and tools to assist in the design, control, and operation of such robotic systems. An important part in the proposed project is the development of a complete set of representative models to characterize the dynamics and the coupling of rover-terrain systems. These models will be particularly developed to provide information to the engineer for the solution of typical design, control, and operation tasks for mobile robots and for the understanding of the effects of relevant design parameters on their performance. The models will also be used to characterize traction and mobility, actuation systems and mechanisms. A central element is related to the description and characterization of wheel slippage on soft terrain, and the simplified representation of soil dynamics. This simplified representation will be established so that it can also be used in the control system development of rovers. We will develop a framework to estimate the state of a rover based on dynamic models and internal sensor data, with particular attention to state variables related to vehicle-soil interaction. Algorithms will be developed for parametric analysis and for on- and off-line identification of parameters. Virtual and physical experiments will be designed and performed to validate the proposed methods and models. The project is structured into three major work packages. The execution of the work will strongly rely on a group of three Ph.D. students and one postdoctoral fellow. We expect that the results of the work will produce important research findings that will be of significant benefit to both our partner, MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) and the Canadian society at large.