Design of a mobile robotic platform with variable footprint

Kurzfassung

This thesis presents an in-depth investigation to determine the most suitable base design for a powerful and dynamic robotic manipulator. It details the design process of such a mobile platform for use in an indoor human environment that is to carry a two-arm upper-body humanoid manipulator sytem. Through systematic dynamics analysis, it was determined that a variable footprint holonomic wheeled mobile platform is the design of choice for such an application. Determining functional requirements and evaluating design options is performed for the platform's general configuration, geometry, locomotion system, suspension, and propulsion, with a particularly in-depth evaluation of the problem of overcoming small steps. ...