Wheel Torque Control in Rough Terrain - Modeling and Simulation

Abstract

This paper presents a method for wheel-ground contact angle measurement and a traction control strategy minimizing slip in rough terrain. The slip minimization algorithm has been tested and compared with a standard speed control in simulation, which allows to verify the validity of the assumptions taken during the modeling phase. The simulations show clearly the advantage of torque control versus speed control. Furthermore, the proposed method has the advantage to avoid relying on complex wheel-soil interaction models, whose parameters are generally unknown in challenging terrains.

Rover control based on an optimal torque distribution - Application to 6 motorized wheels passive rover

“…• The tactile wheels provide the information about the wheel ground contact angles γ i , with i ∈ [1,6]. This input to the model is crucial to compute the optimal torques in uneven terrain.…”

Performance comparison of rough‐terrain robots—simulation and hardware

“…The best strategy would be torque control, which is based on the static approach. Such a controller distributes the torques on the wheels proportionally to their respective normal forces in order to reduce the slippage risk and optimize the rover mobility (Lamon & Siegwart, 2005). However, such a controller needs to know the state of the rover in detail, including the contact angles of the wheels.…”

“…It is of interest because, speaking in mechanical terms, this solution means that a mechanical structure cannot achieve more traction in a given situation. Therefore the criteria qualifies the performance of rovers which is important in the context of the POT (Lamon, 2005).…”

Performance Optimization of All-Terrain Robots: A 2D Quasi-Static Tool

“…At such speeds, the dynamical effects are negligible and a quasi-static model is very close to reality. Such an approach has already been used for rover control [6].…”