Attitude-based dynamic and kinematic models for wheels of mobile robot on deformable slope

Deformable slope is a type of terrain that wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) and ground unmanned vehicles (GUVs) may have to traverse to accomplish their mission tasks. However, the associated terramechanics for wheels with arbitrary posture is rarely studied. In this paper, based on wheel attitude, dynamics of the wheel-terrain interaction for a rigid wheel on deformable slope is investigated. Through introducing the angular geometry of wheel attitude into terramechanics theory, a generalized dynamic model is developed, involving two inclination angles of slope and three attitude angles of wheel steering axis. Two representative cases are studied: the wheel runs straight forward and perpendicular to the slope, and the wheel is in a steering maneuver with an inclined steering axis. A generalized kinematic model for wheel-terrain contact point and wheel center is also provided, which analytically explicates that trajectory of wheel motion is coupled with wheel attitude while driven by angular rates. The proposed attitude-based models are valid for arbitrary wheel-terrain geometry and can lead to control purpose directly. Effectiveness of the models is confirmed by simulating the influences from attitude to wheel mechanics and motion.