Dynamic Weight Shifting for Improved Maneuverability and Rollover Prevention in High Speed Mobile Manipulators

Abstract

Mobile manipulators have reduced maneuverability and risk rolling over when operated at high speeds. One of the main contributing factors is the higher center of gravity (CG) due to the manipulator arm. This paper proposes a new dynamic weightshifting method that uses the manipulator arm on the mobile robot to improve maneuverability and reduce rollover risk. A control law is developed such that the manipulator arm keeps a low CG and the contribution of the reaction moments from its inertia is small in comparison to the reaction moments due to gravity. A linear dynamic model is used to analyze the effect of the arm design (link length, mass, etc.) on the roll dynamics. A higher fidelity nonlinear simulation is used to evaluate roll reduction and the impact on handling dynamics. Last, the dynamic weightshifting method is implemented in hardware. With regard to reducing rollover risk, simulation results from the nonlinear model (NLM) show a 29% reduction in wheel normal load transfer by using the proposed method. In terms of improving maneuverability, experimental results with hardware demonstrate a 13% increase in lateral acceleration when using dynamic weightshifting. By reducing the vehicle's roll motion, dynamic weightshifting can increase safe operating speeds and maneuverability.