Mobile Robot Load Positioning for Slope Stability Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile robots face stability issues when navigating sloped surfaces due to an uneven distribution of weight across their wheels, making it difficult to maintain balance and prevent overturning, especially on inclined ground.
Innovation Solution
A mobile robot equipped with at least three wheels, a sensing unit to measure weight distribution, a linear actuator connected to a receiving unit, and a processor that adjusts the position of the receiving unit based on weight measurements to control the center of mass and maintain stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the receiving part is positioned higher to increase load capacity, then the robot can carry more stuff, but the center of mass moves farther from the ground surface making it difficult to keep balance
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving unit is made movable along the vertical direction through a linear actuator, allowing dynamic adjustment of its position. This enables the robot to adapt the center of mass height based on operating conditions - positioning higher for maximum load capacity on flat ground, and lowering for enhanced stability on sloped surfaces, thus resolving the contradiction between load capacity and balance stability
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the vertical position parameter of the receiving unit to control the center of mass location. By adjusting this parameter in response to detected slope conditions, the robot optimizes the trade-off between load capacity (higher position) and balance stability (lower position), effectively resolving the technical contradiction
2Ease of operation
If the robot operates on sloped ground without adjustment, then it can maintain simple operation, but excessive external force is required and overturning risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs self-adjustment of its center of mass position using the linear actuator based on weight distribution feedback from the sensing unit. This automatic adaptation eliminates the need for manual intervention or complex external force application, maintaining ease of operation while reducing the external force required and preventing overturning on sloped ground
3Device complexity
If weight distribution is not monitored, then the system structure remains simple, but the robot cannot adapt to sloped surfaces and may overturn
Solution Approach 1:
A sensing unit is integrated to provide real-time feedback on weight distribution across the wheels. This feedback mechanism enables the processor to detect slope conditions and trigger appropriate adjustments of the receiving unit's position, ensuring reliability and stability on sloped surfaces while maintaining relatively simple system structure through efficient sensor-actuator coupling
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a mobile robot having a receiving unit and capable of moving, the mobile robot including: at least three wheels arranged at a lower portion of the mobile robot; a sensing unit configured to measure a weight of the mobile robot applied to each of the at least three wheels; a linear actuator connected to the receiving unit and configured to apply a linear motion to the receiving unit in a direction toward a front section or a rearward section of the mobile robot; and a processor configured to, based on the weight applied to each of the at least three wheels measured by the sensing unit, control the linear actuator so as to apply the linear motion to the receiving unit. In addition, disclosed are a method for controlling a center of mass of a mobile robot, including a method performed by the aforementioned mobile robot, and a non-volatile computer readable storage medium in which a computer program for implementing the aforementioned method is stored.