Construction of a Service Area of a Highly Maneuverable Mobile Manipulation Robot

Abstract

One of the priority areas of research in the field of mechatronics and robotics is the field of research related to the development of mobile manipulation robots. Mobile manipulation robots are a mobile platform on which manipulative and gripping mechanisms are placed. The paper is devoted to justification of the choice and analysis of the design of the mobile manipulator for manipulation operations, such as capture and transfer of objects to a given point. As the base of the manipulator, a mobile platform with omni wheels is used, a distinctive feature of which is the ability of implementing high-maneuvering motion. The degrees of freedom of the manipulator are chosen in such a way that when it is installed on a mobile base, the mechanical system has 6 degrees of freedom. Combining mobile platforms with omni wheels and manipulator will allow to significantly increase the functionality and to expand its service area. The proposed design of the mobile manipulation robot can be in demand when performing loading and unloading, warehouse operations, as well as in the human service sector. To determine the working area of a mobile manipulator the paper considers a direct positional problem for a mobile manipulation robot. Knowledge of the working space is necessary to evaluate the functionality of the robot. Results of numerical simulation for the direct kinematics problem both for the manipulator individually and for the mobile manipulation robot are presented. An experimental investigation was conducted to assess the correctness of the theoretical data. A comparison is made between the theoretical and experimental data of the trajectory of the mobile manipulator movement, the result of which is the proof of the reliability of the obtained solution of the direct positional task.