Fostering Advances in Mechatronics and Robotics Resorting to Simulation

This paper presents the modelling and simulation of a wheeled mobile robot designed to operate in structured environments and the development of robot software based on its simulation. The mobile robot was simulated resorting to the SimTwo, a custom made simulator developed by the authors with the purpose to test and produce control software for industrial, humanoid and wheeled robots. The presented example is in the field of edutainment robotics, being presented the localization and navigation in a Fire Fight Robot Contest arena of an omnidirectional mobile robot equipped with brushless motors and infra-red distance sensors. Edutainment robotics plays an important role in education due to the inherent multi-disciplinary concepts that are involved, motivating students to technological areas. It also plays an important role in research and development, because it is expected that the outcomes that will emerge here, will later be transfered to other application areas, such as service robots and manufacturing.