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Validation of Tumbling Robot Dynamics with Posture Manipulation for Closed-Loop Heading Angle Control

Adarsh Salagame, Eric Sihite, Alireza Ramezani

TL;DR

This paper presents a reduced-order cascade model for COBRA's tumbling locomotion and validates it against a high-fidelity rigid-body simulation, presenting simulation results that show that the model captures key system dynamics.

Abstract

Navigating rugged terrain and steep slopes is a challenge for mobile robots. Conventional legged and wheeled systems struggle with these environments due to limited traction and stability. Northeastern University's COBRA (Crater Observing Bio-inspired Rolling Articulator), a novel multi-modal snake-like robot, addresses these issues by combining traditional snake gaits for locomotion on flat and inclined surfaces with a tumbling mode for controlled descent on steep slopes. Through dynamic posture manipulation, COBRA can modulate its heading angle and velocity during tumbling. This paper presents a reduced-order cascade model for COBRA's tumbling locomotion and validates it against a high-fidelity rigid-body simulation, presenting simulation results that show that the model captures key system dynamics.

Validation of Tumbling Robot Dynamics with Posture Manipulation for Closed-Loop Heading Angle Control

TL;DR

This paper presents a reduced-order cascade model for COBRA's tumbling locomotion and validates it against a high-fidelity rigid-body simulation, presenting simulation results that show that the model captures key system dynamics.

Abstract

Navigating rugged terrain and steep slopes is a challenge for mobile robots. Conventional legged and wheeled systems struggle with these environments due to limited traction and stability. Northeastern University's COBRA (Crater Observing Bio-inspired Rolling Articulator), a novel multi-modal snake-like robot, addresses these issues by combining traditional snake gaits for locomotion on flat and inclined surfaces with a tumbling mode for controlled descent on steep slopes. Through dynamic posture manipulation, COBRA can modulate its heading angle and velocity during tumbling. This paper presents a reduced-order cascade model for COBRA's tumbling locomotion and validates it against a high-fidelity rigid-body simulation, presenting simulation results that show that the model captures key system dynamics.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 9 sections, 17 equations, 10 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. About the COBRA Platform
  3. Reduced-Order Model (ROM) Derivations
  4. Cascade Model
  5. Governing Dynamics for Posture Manipulation $\Sigma_{pos}$
  6. Governing Dynamics for Tumbling $\Sigma_{tbl}$
  7. Model Validation in Simulation
  8. Results
  9. Conclusion

Figures (10)

  • Figure 2: Northeastern University's COBRA robot performing tumbling locomotion
  • Figure 3: Shows the kinematic structure of COBRA in its snake configuration and tumbling configuration, and latching mechanism used to achieve tumbling confiugration
  • Figure 4: Illustrates the Reduced-Order Model for COBRA's Tumbling Configuration and shows posture manipulation by considering two imaginary actuators, denoted as $u_1$ and $u_2$, which act along the principal axes of the ring to induce planar deformations.
  • Figure 5: ROM simulation built using Simscape Multi-Body Toolbox to validate presented cascade model dynamics. Shows virtual prismatic actuators used to connect rigid body elements to the center of the ring, approximating a smooth ring.
  • Figure 6: Shows snapshots of Cascade Model (above) and Simscape Model (below) executing impulse input during tumbling
  • ...and 5 more figures