Reconfiguration Planning for a Robotic Vehicle with Actively Articulated Suspension in Obstacle Terrain during Straight Motion

Abstract

In this paper, an actively articulated suspension (AAS) reconfiguration method is proposed for a robotic vehicle with AAS to negotiate an obstacle during straight motion. Proposed method includes AAS locomotion for the locomotion with the AAS and a calculation method that is independent to the terrain model for posture control using the AAS reconfiguration. Using simulations, it was verified that the proposed method can reconfigure the AAS for a robotic vehicle to have the desired position and posture to negotiate an obstacle. The errors of height and orientation can be reduced while wheel driving on rough terrain. Also, the robot can maintain a minimum static stability angle over 0.6 rad. When observing the obstacle negotiation procedure using the AAS reconfiguration including the proposed locomotion, it was found that the robot can conduct a high-level command successfully using the proposed method. The robot can negotiate an obstacle with a height of 71% of its usable length and can maintain the minimum static stability over 0.3 rad. Also, the robot can manage terrain uncertainty using the proposed AAS reconfiguration method. (c) 2012 Taylor & Francis and The Robotics Society of Japan