A Computed Torque Method Based Attitude Control with Optimal Force Distribution for Articulated Body Mobile Robots.

Abstract

This paper introduces an attitude control scheme based in optimal force distribution using quadratic programming which minimizes joint energy consumption. This method shares similarities with force distribution for multifingered hands, multiple coordinated manipulators and legged walking robots. In particular, an attitude control scheme was introduced inside the force distribution problem, and successfully implemented for control of the articulated body mobile robot KR-II. This is an actual mobile robot composed of cylindrical segments linked in series by prismatic joints and has a long snake-like appearance. These prismatic joints are force controlled so that each segment's vertical motion can automatically follow the terrain irregularities. An attitude control is necessary because this system acts like a system of wheeled inverted pendulum carts connected in series, being unstable by nature. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by computer simulation and experiments with the real robot KR-II.