Research on the Obstacle-Avoidance Steering Control Strategy of Tracked Inspection Robots

Abstract

Tracked inspection robots possess prominent advantages in dealing with severe environment rescue, safety inspection, and other important tasks, and have been used widely. However, tracked robots are affected by skidding and slipping, so it is difficult to achieve accurate control. For example, the control parameters of a tracked robot are the same during driving, but the pressure, shear force and steering resistance of the robot on the road surface are different, which affects the steering characteristics of the robot on complex terrain. Based on analysis of the structural parameters and steering radius of the robot, the traction force and resistance torque models of the tracked robot were established, and the plane dynamics of the robot’s steering were analyzed and solved. The corresponding relationships between the road parameters, relative steering radius, and lateral relative offset of the robot on three typical roads were obtained. Mathematical models of the robot’s track speed and relative steering radius with and without skid and slip were established. Through simulation analysis of Matlab software, the corresponding relationship between the relative steering radius of the robot and the velocity difference of the two tracks were obtained. Taking angular obstacles as an example, three obstacle-avoidance steering control strategies, once turning in situ center, twice turning in situ center, and large-radius steering were developed. The tracked robot and obstacle multi-body dynamic simulation models were constructed using ADAMS simulation software. The simulation results show that all three methods can complete the steering tasks according to the requirements; however, under the influence of skid and slip, the trajectory of the robot deviates from the ideal trajectory, which has a great impact on large-radius steering, even though the large-radius obstacle-avoidance steering control strategy has the advantages of a smooth trajectory, fast steering speed, and high efficiency. The obstacle-avoidance steering experiments were completed by the robot prototype, which verifies the rationality of robot steering theory, which could provide the corresponding theoretical basis for autonomous obstacle-avoidance navigation control of a tracked robot.

Simulation and Validation of a Steering Control Strategy for Tracked Robots

“…When the robot is driving on a horizontal road surface, obstacle avoidance steering can be controlled by the speed difference between the two sides of the robot track. Based on an analysis of the structural parameters and steering radius of the robot, the traction force and resistance torque models of the tracked robot were established [18]. The current study is a continuation of previous studies by the authors focused on the obstacle-surmounting and obstacle avoidance performance of tracked robots.…”

Control of a Path Following Cable Trench Caterpillar Robot Based on a Self-Coupling PD Algorithm

“…In addition, the road surface is mostly sand and gravel, garbage, and other obstacles, and the friction changes drastically, which requires the inspection robot to have a certain level of obstacle-crossing ability [1]. Among the common mobile chassis structures for inspection robots, caterpillar-tracked [2] has simple control and strong obstacle-crossing ability, which is suitable for underground cable trench environments. The path-following problem of a caterpillar-tracked inspection robot in an underground cable trench environment becomes the key to completing intelligent inspection safely and efficiently.…”

A Novel Design of a Small Adaptive Bionic Obstacle-crossing Vehicle

“…They experimentally verified that the designed vehicle was able to cross a 1-m-high step obstacle. Wang et al (13) proposed the obstacle-crossing performance index of a mobile robot considering difficult road conditions, such as roads with deep trenches, steep slope topography, and stepped landform. Meanwhile, they carried out a simulation study on the obstacle-crossing ability of the mobile robot using Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical System (ADAMS) software.…”