Kinematic analysis and control of mobile mini-robots

A mobile mini-robot with a swing arm structure was developed and its kinematic model was established. The relation between the driving wheel angle of the robot and the position-posture of the robot was determined, providing a theoretic basis for design of the control system of mobile mini-robots. The control system of the robot adopts a two-level structure to control the robot in a remote area, specifically, taking a PC as the upper-end computer and a single chip microcomputer as the lower-end computer. It uses flow control flags to search and estimate the flow directions of driving signals, so the mobile carrier, swing arm and camera device of the robot can move in phase. The simulation experiments on the motion of the robotic mechanisms were carried out, and the key assembly kinematical parameter curves of primary driving-shaft angle, swing arm angle and camera angle during the uniform motion were obtained, and the kinematic characteristics of the robot mechanisms were verified.