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

轮式移动机器人在非结构化地形上运行，在许多应用中扮演着重要的角色。该项目旨在开发先进的方法、模型和工具，以协助此类机器人系统的设计、控制和操作。拟议项目中的一个重要部分是开发一套完整的代表性模型来表征漫游车-地形系统的动力学和耦合。这些模型的开发将特别为工程师提供信息，以解决移动机器人的典型设计、控制和操作任务，并了解相关设计参数对其性能的影响。这些模型还将用于表征牵引力和机动性、驱动系统和机制。一个核心要素与软地面上车轮打滑的描述和表征以及土壤动力学的简化表示有关。将建立这一简化表示法，以便它也可用于火星车控制系统的开发。我们将开发一个基于动力学模型和内部传感器数据的框架来估计月球车的状态，特别关注与车辆-土壤相互作用相关的状态变量。将开发用于参数分析以及参数的在线和离线识别的算法。将设计和执行虚拟和物理实验来验证所提出的方法和模型。该项目被组织成三个主要的工作包。这项工作的实施将强烈依赖于一个由三名博士生和一名博士后组成的小组。我们预计，这项工作的结果将产生重要的研究成果，这将对我们的合作伙伴麦克唐纳·德特威勒及其同事(MDA)和整个加拿大社会都有重大好处。

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.