Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T13:00:30.219Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Terramechanics-based wheel–terrain interaction model and its applications to off-road wheeled mobile robots

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2011

Zhenzhong Jia ,
William Smith  and
Huei Peng
Zhenzhong Jia
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA Ground Robotics Reliability Center (GRRC), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
William Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA Ground Robotics Reliability Center (GRRC), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
Huei Peng*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA Ground Robotics Reliability Center (GRRC), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: hpeng@umich.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This paper presents a wheel–terrain interaction model, which enables efficient modeling of wheeled locomotion in soft soil and numerical simulations of off-road mobile robots. This modular model is derived based on wheel kinematics and terramechanics and the main focus is on describing the stress distributions along the wheel–terrain interface and the reaction forces exerted on the wheel by the soil. When the wheels are steered, the shear stresses underneath the wheel were modeled based on isotropic assumptions. The forces and torques contributed by the bulldozing effect of the side surfaces is also considered in the proposed model. Furthermore, the influence of grousers, commonly used on smaller mobile robots, was modeled by (1) averaging the normal pressures contributed by the grousers and the wheel concave portion, and (2) assuming that the shear phenomenon takes places along the grouser tips. By integrating the model with multibody system code for vehicle dynamics, simulation studies of various off-road conditions in three-dimensional environments can be conducted. The model was verified by using field experiment data, both for a single-wheel vehicle and a whole vehicle.

Keywords

Wheel–terrain interactionWheel–soil interfaceTerramechanicsOff-road mobile robotsMultibody system
Type
Articles
Information
Robotica , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , May 2012 , pp. 491 - 503
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Lagnemma, K. and Dubowsky, S., Mobile Robot in Rough Terrain, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, vol. 12 (Springer, Berlin, 2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Morales, J. et al. , “Power consumption modeling of skid-steer tracked mobile robots on rigid terrain,” IEEE Trans. Robot. 25 (5), 1098–1108 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Schäfer, B., Gibbesch, A., Krenn, R. and Rebele, B., “Planetary rover mobility simulation on soft and uneven terrain,” Veh. Syst. Dyn. 48 (1), 149–169 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Bekker, M. G., Theory of Land Locomotion (The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1956).Google Scholar
5.Bekker, M. G., Introduction to Terrain-Vehicle Systems (The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1969).Google Scholar
6.Wong, J. Y., Terramechanics and Off-Road Vehicles (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1989).Google Scholar
7.Wong, J. Y., Theory of Ground Vehicles, 4th ed. (John Wiley & Sons, Aug. 2008).Google Scholar
8.Wong, J. Y. and Reece, A. R., “Prediction of rigid wheels performance based on analysis of soil-wheel stresses, part I. Performance of driven rigid wheels,” J. Terramechanics 4 (1), 81–98 (1967).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Wong, J. Y. and Chiang;, C. F. “A general theory for skid steering of tracked vehicles on firm ground,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. 215 (3), 343–355 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Tran, T. H., Kwok, N. M., Scheding, S. and Ha, Q. P., “Dynamic Modeling of Wheel-Terrain Interaction of a UGV,” Proceedings of the 3rd Annual IEEE Conference on Automation Science and Engineering, Scottsdale, AZ, USA (Sep. 22–25, 2007) pp. 369–374.Google Scholar
11.Tran, T. H., “Modeling and Control of Unmanned Ground Vehicles,” Ph.D. Thesis (Sydney, Australia: The Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology, Sep. 2007).Google Scholar
12.Ishigami, G., Miwa, A., Nagatani, K. and Yoshida, K., “Terramechanics-based model for steering maneuver of planetary exploration rovers on loose soil,” J. Field Robot. 24 (3), 233–250 (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Ishigami, G., “Terramechanics-Based Analysis and Control for Lunar/Planetary Exploration Robots,” Ph.D. Thesis (Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University, Mar. 2008).Google Scholar
14.Schmid, I. C., “Interaction of vehicle and terrain—Results from 10 years research at IKK,” J. Terramechanics 32 (1), 3–26 (1995).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Harnish, C., Lach, B., Jakobs, R., Troulis, M. and Nehls, O., “A new tyre-soil interaction model for vehicle simulation on deformable ground,” Veh. Syst. Dyn. 43 (1), 384–394 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.AESCO, Matlab/Simulink Module AS2 TM User's Guide (version 1.12) (2005). http://www.aesco.de/Google Scholar
17.Bauer, R., Leung, W. and Barfoot, T., “Experimental and Simulation Results of Wheel–Soil Interaction for Planetary Rovers,” Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Shaw Conference Center, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Aug. 2–6, 2005) pp. 586–591.Google Scholar
18.Spong, M. W., Hutchinson, S. and Vidyasagar, M., Robot Modeling and Control (John Wiley & Sons, Nov. 2005).Google Scholar
19.Solis, J. M. and Longoria, R. G.; “Modeling track-terrain interaction for transient robotic vehicle maneuvers,” J. Terramechanics 45 (3), 65–78 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Liu, J., Gao, H., Deng, Z. and Tao, J., “Effect of Slip on Tractive Performance of Small Rigid Wheel on Loose Sand”, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Intelligent Robotics and Applications (ICIRA '08) (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Ding, L., Gao, H., Deng, Z., Yoshida, K. and Nagatani, K., “Slip Ratio for Lugged Wheel of Planetary Rover in Deformable Soil: Definition and Estimation”, Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS '09), St. Louis, USA (Oct. 11–15, 2009), pp. 3343–3348.Google Scholar
22.Ding, L., “Wheel–Soil Interaction Terramechanics for Lunar/Planetary Exploration Rovers: Modeling and Application,” Ph.D. Thesis (Harbin, China: School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Dec. 2009).Google Scholar
23.Shibly, H., Iagnemma, K. and Dubowsky, S., “An equivalent soil mechanics formulation for rigid wheels in deformable terrain, with application to planetary exploration rovers,” J. Terramechanics 42 (1), 1–13 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.Ishigmai, G., “Locomotion Mechanics for Planetary Exploration Rovers Based on Steering Characteristics,” Master Thesis (Sendai, Miyagi, Japan: Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University, Mar. 2005).Google Scholar
25.Ishigami, G., Mizuuchi, K. and Yoshida, K., “Terramechanics-Based Analysis on Locomotion Mechanics of Wheeled Mobile Robots (Part 1. Analysis of Wheel Mechanics on Lunar Regolith Simulant),” Proceedings of the JSME Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics, Kobe, Japan (Jun. 9–11, 2005).Google Scholar