Title: A computer-controlled active suspension for a wheeled terrain robot

Authors: Kazuo Tani, Seiichi Usui, Eiichi Horiuchi, Nobumasa Shirai, Shinji Hirobe

Addresses: Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan. ' Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan. ' Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan. ' Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan. ' Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Matsunosato, Kukisaki-machi, Ibaraki 305, Japan

Abstract: The aim of our study is to propose a mechanism and control methods for an active suspension and to experimentally demonstrate its applicability to wheeled terrain robots. We built a one-wheel experimental hardware model which includes a mechanism of the suspension, a direct-drive DC servo motor as the actuator, passive elements such as springs and dampers, sensors, and a computer configuration. We implemented PID control and optimal control. We restricted ourselves to the use of only internal sensors for the control: a potentiometer for the body-axle distance and an accelerometer for the body displacement. Simulations showed that an active suspension enables a vehicle to pass over higher steps than a passive or no suspension.

Keywords: active suspensions; PID control; terrain robots; wheel method; optimal control; robotics; body stabilisation; wheeled robots; optimal control; simulation; vehicle suspension; robot control.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.1990.062701

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 1990 Vol.3 No.2, pp.100 - 104

Published online: 11 Jun 2014 *

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