Kinematic analysis on a mobile robot composed of three wheeled units

Abstract

A mobile robot with three links on which the passive wheels are fixed is presented in this paper. This robot can move with two formation decided by the different connection between links and body of robot. This link is a type of joint mechanism called modular universal unit(MUU). The MUU behaves Pitching, Yawing and Rolling D.O.F. A series of passive rollers around the cylindrical aluminum shell of MUU form an actuating wheel for mobile robot. The communication and replacement are feasible due to high integration of MUU. The mobile robot consisting of three MUUs can move by winding the links or by driving links to rotate. The kinematic analysis of this robot is given to show its performance on mobility. Finally, some locomotion simulations are given to show characteristic of robots.