A Tutorial on Robotics

Part I : Basic Machine

What Is Robotics ?
The word robotics is used to collectively define a field in engineering that covers the mimicking of various human characteristics Sound concepts in many engineering disciplines is needed for working in this particular field It finds its uses in all aspects of our life

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What A Robot Can Mean ?

An automatic industrial machine replacing the human in hazardous work environment An automatic mobile sweeper machine at a modern home An automatic toy car for a child to play with A machine removing mines in a war field all by itself and many more

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What Do We Mean Here ?

Here we are aiming at design and prototyping of mobile robots capable of controlled locomotion It may be human controlled or automatic It must be able to perform certain tasks we set for it The task must be achieved within some given limitations

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Basic Parts Of Our Mobile Robot

Locomotion system Power supply system Actuators Sensory devices for feedback Sensor Data processing unit Control system

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Locomotion System
As the name suggests a mobile robot must have a system to make it move This system gives our machine the ability to move forward, backward and take turns It may also provide for climbing up and down

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Locomotion System
The concept of locomotion invariably needs rotational motion e.g. a wheel driven by some power source This involves conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy, which we can easily achieve using electrical motors The issue is to control these motors to give the required speed and torque

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Power, Torque and Speed

A simple equation: Power is the product of Torque and Angular velocity P=X This implies that if we want more torque (pulling capacity) from the same motor we may have to sacrifice speed and vice versa

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Another Simple Relation

The dc motors (tape motors) available have very high speed of rotation which is generally not needed. But what they lack is torque output For reduction in speed and increase in pulling capacity we use pulley or gear systems These are governed by: 1 X r1 = 2 X r2

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Wheeled Locomotion Systems

Differential drive Car type drive Skid steer drive Articulated drive Synchronous drive Pivot drive Dual differential drive

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Differential Drive
This is the most commonly used form of locomotion system used in mobile robots as its the simplest and easiest to implement It has a free moving wheel in the front accompanied with a left and right wheel.The two wheels are separately powered When the wheels move in the same direction the machine moves in that direction. Turning is achieved by making the wheels oppose each others motion, thus generating a couple

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Differential Drive Cont

Black arrows denote the direction of wheel. The green ones show robot movement

Differential Drive Cont

In-place (zero turning radius) rotation is done by turning the drive wheels at the same rate in the opposite direction Arbitrary motion paths can be implemented by dynamically modifying the angular velocity and/or direction of the drive wheels Total of two motors are required, both of them are responsible for translation and rotational motion

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Differential Drive An Analysis

Simplicity and ease of use makes it the most preferred system by beginners Independent drives makes it difficult for straight line motion. The differences in motors and frictional profile of the two wheels cause them to move with slight turning effect The above drawback must be countered with appropriate feedback system. Suitable for human controlled remote robots

Car Type Drive

This is the car type drive and the most common in real world but not in robot world It is characterized by a pair of driving wheels and a separate pair of steering wheels The translation and rotation are independent of each other. But translation and rotation are interlinked hence this system faces severe path planning problem

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Car Type Drive Cont

Disadvantages Of Car Type Drive

The turning mechanism must be accurately controlled. A slight inaccuracy may cause large odometry errors The system is Non Holonomic hence path planning is extremely difficult as well as inaccurate There are no direct directional actuators

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Holonomic Systems
A Non-Holonomic system is one in which the actuators do not directly control one or more of the degrees-of-freedom of the system, but instead are coupled such that orientation becomes much more complicated than in a Holonomic system Any robot architecture that allows for direct and, possibly simultaneous, motion along the x and y axes would be Holonomic

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Skid Steer Drive

A close relative of the differential drive system It is mostly used in tracked machines e.g. tanks. Also finds application in some four / six wheeled robots The left and right wheels are driven independently Steering is accomplished by actuating each side at a different rate or in a different direction, causing the wheels or tracks to slip, or skid, on the ground

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Skid Steer Drive Cont

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Differences With Differential Drive

Multiple drive wheels on each side give increased traction. The effect is even greater for tracked machines Skidding causes the wheels to loose contact with the surface beneath and position tracking becomes difficult Rest of its properties are more or less like the differential drive system

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Articulated Drive
In this mechanism the machine chassis (body) is deformed to achieve rotation in contrast to the steering wheels in car type drive

Articulated Drive Cont

Two actuators (motors) are needed. One to drive the wheels and the other to change the pivot angle This system shares most of its features with the car type mechanism This is too an example of Non Holonomic System

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Synchronous Drive
As the name suggests, it uses synchronous rotation of its wheels to achieve motion & turns It is made up of a system of motors. One set of which drive the wheels and the other set turns the wheels in a synchronous fashion The two sets can be directly mechanically coupled as they always move in the same direction with same speed

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Synchronous Drive Cont

The direction of motion is given by black arrow. The alignment of the machine is shown by green arrow

Advantages of Synchronous Drive

The use of separate motors for translation and wheel turning guarantees straight line motion without the need for dynamic feedback control This system is somewhat complex in designing but further use is much simpler

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Pivot Drive
The most unique type of Locomotion system It is composed of a four wheeled chassis and a platform that can be raised or lowered

Pivot Drive Cont

The wheels are driven by a motor for translation motion in a straight line For rotation one motor is needed to lower/raise the platform & another to rotate the chassis around the platform This system can guarantee perfect straight line motion as well as accurate in place turns to a desired heading

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Complexity of Pivot Drive

The system is quite complex in design A still more complex design uses only two motors. The wheels and the platform rotation are coupled to a single motor. When in translation the platform has no effect as it is above ground. And when turning, the wheels are off the ground due to the lowered platform The machine is restricted to only in place turns. This may be an hindrance in some cases
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Dual Differential Drive

It offers the flexibility of the differential drive along with a fairly better accuracy in movement The design is achieved using a unique arrangement of gears It guarantees straight line translation along with spot turning

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Dual Differential Drive Cont

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Power Supply System

Suitable power source is needed to run the robots Mobile robots are most suitably powered by batteries The weight and energy capacity of the batteries may become the determinative factor of its performance

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