The Kinematics of Tracked Vehicles via the Power Dissipation Method
This work addresses motion prediction for tracked robots, providing a basis for improved feedback control, but it is incremental as it builds on existing kinematic modeling approaches.
The paper tackles the problem of predicting tracked vehicle motion by developing a new quasi-static modeling framework based on the power dissipation method, which more accurately predicts motion and captures phenomena not addressed by existing kinematic models.
This paper develops a new quasi-static modeling framework for tracked robots based on the power dissipation method. Given a set of track speeds, this method predicts the vehicle's instantaneous rigid body motion. We introduce three specific models: a model for tracked operation on flat ground, a model for vehicle motion when the track's grouser tips touch the ground, and a model for operation on stairs. Experiments show that these models predict tracked vehicle motion more accurately than existing kinematic models, and predict phenomena which are not captured by other models. These novel models provide a basis for new feedback control approaches.