Dynamics and Aerial Attitude Control for Rapid Emergency Deployment of the Agile Ground Robot AGRO
This addresses the need for emergency response personnel to deploy robots quickly over obstacles without landing upside down, though it is incremental as it applies a novel method to a specific robot.
The paper tackles the problem of controlling a ground robot's orientation while airborne using wheel reaction torques, enabling rapid deployment by throwing, and demonstrates that AGRO can stabilize its orientation within 402 milliseconds when dropped from 0.85 m with initial angles of 16 degrees roll and -23 degrees pitch.
In this work we present a Four-Wheeled Independent Drive and Steering (4WIDS) robot named AGRO and a method of controlling its orientation while airborne using wheel reaction torques. This is the first documented use of independently steerable wheels to both drive on the ground and achieve aerial attitude control when thrown. Inspired by a cat's self-righting reflex, this capability was developed to allow emergency response personnel to rapidly deploy AGRO by throwing it over walls and fences or through windows without the risk of it landing upside down. It also allows AGRO to drive off of ledges and ensure it lands on all four wheels. We have demonstrated a successful thrown deployment of AGRO. A novel parametrization and singularity analysis of 4WIDS kinematics reveals independent yaw authority with simultaneous adjustment of the ratio between roll and pitch authority. Simple PD controllers allow for stabilization of roll, pitch, and yaw. These controllers were tested in a simulation using derived dynamic equations of motion, then implemented on the AGRO prototype. An experiment comparing a controlled and non-controlled fall was conducted in which AGRO was dropped from a height of 0.85 m with an initial roll and pitch angle of 16 degrees and -23 degrees respectively. With the controller enabled, AGRO can use the reaction torque from its wheels to stabilize its orientation within 402 milliseconds.