Modeling Method of Mobile Manipulators Considering Flexible Tire-ground Interactions

doi:10.3901/JME.2025.09.252

Abstract

Abstract: As an effective technical way to perform complex tasks in large spaces, the operating accuracy of mobile manipulators is usually affected by chassis navigation, tire deformation, manipulator positioning, and other factors. To reduce the end-effector positioning error caused by tire deformation during robot operations, a modeling method that considers the influence of flexible tire-ground interaction is proposed. Firstly, a static model of the wheeled chassis is established by introducing the tire coordinate system, and a complete robot kinematics framework is constructed. Secondly, considering the floating robot problem caused by the pneumatic tire, the tire-ground interaction model is established, and the tire deformation equation is derived. Finally, based on the displacement change of the wheels, the real-time chassis posture is calculated under the chassis-manipulator coupling, and then the actual end-effector posture of the floating robot is obtained. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed modeling method could accurately calculate the robot end-effector position after tire deformation, and the positioning error during load operation was reduced by at least 64.9%. The absolute positioning accuracy of the robot end-effector is significantly improved.

Key words: mobile manipulators, mathematical-physical modeling, flexible tire-ground interaction, chassis-manipulator coupling effect, absolute positioning accuracy

CLC Number:

TG156

LIU Tianyu, XU Shuo, WANG Haolong, ZHAO Hanlei, LI Tiejun, LIU Jinyue. Modeling Method of Mobile Manipulators Considering Flexible Tire-ground Interactions[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2025, 61(9): 252-263.

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