PROJECT REPORT:

Steering mechanism of
Autonomus vehicles

STEERING MECHANISM OF AGV’S

Submitted by: | Chetan swaroop

B.tech. ME
H.C.S.T. Farah, Mathura
Robots: The term robot comes from the Czech word ―robota”, generally
translated as "forced labor." This describes the majority of robots fairly
well. Most robots in the world are designed for heavy, repetitive
manufacturing work. They handle tasks that are difficult, dangerous or
boring to human beings.

Robots are a programmable multifunction manipulator designed to

move materials, parts, tools or specialized devices through variable
progra mmed motion for the performance of variety of tasks.

Robots are fitted with variety of sensors (e.g.: vision, ranging, force
torque, touch etc.) sending the sensory information to the computer which
processes then subject to given objectives and constrains and develops
actions decisions for robot actuator.

Reasons for using robots:

1. It relieves human of hazardous and dangerous tasks.

2. It provides consistency as well as continuous improvements in product

quality.

3. Offers ability to work where human can’t reach.eg space, mars, moon etc.

Basic element of robot: Basic elements of a robot system are

a. Manipulator b. Controller

c. Effecter d. Sensors

e. Energy source
Manipulator: It is the
most obvious part of the
robot required to perform
physical actions. It comprises
of base, arm, wrist etc. the
robot move ment are executed
by the mechanical part like
link, power joints and
transmission system.

Controller: A controller acts like a brain of robot. It performs the action

of storing and sequencing the data in memory, initiation and stopping of the
motions of the manipulator and interacting with the environment.

Effectors: The effectors are the tools, a sort of gripper, which directly
interacts with the job. These are design to handle a wide variety of job
effectively.

Sensors: Sensors are to sense the working environment like obstacles

temperature, torque etc. to provide an automatic control of manipulator for a
wide range of working variables. These are necessary for an intelligent
robot.

Energy sources: It is require to cause the motion of manipulator arm

and its linkages. It may take energy in the form electrical, hydraulic, or
pneumatic devices.

Manipulator geometry: Manipulator is a fancy name of the

mechanical arm. It is an assembly of segments and joints. That can be
conveniently divided into three sections:

a. The arm- consisting of one or more segments or joints.

b. Wrist-consisting one to three segments and joints.

c. Grippers- mean of attaching or grasping.

Positioning, orienting, and how many degrees of

freedom: The arm and wrist of a
manipulator perform two separate functions –
positioning and orienting. Each joint provides
one degree of freedom of motion.
Theoretically the minimum no. of dof to
reach at any location in work envelope. And
orient the gripper in any orientation is six-
three for location and three for orientation. In
other words there must be at least three
bending or extending motions to get position and three twisting and rotating
motion to get orientation. The three twisting motion that gives orientation
are libeled as – pitch , roll and yaw for tilting , twisting and bending left and
right. There is no easy labeling system for the arm itself since there are many
ways to achieve gross positioning using extended segments and pivoted or
twisted joints.

Robotic arm: The most common manufacturing robot is the robotic

arm. A typical robotic arm is made up of seven metal segments, joined by
six joints. The computer controls the robot by rotating individual step motors
connected to each joint (some larger arms use hydraulics or pneumatics).
Unlike ordinary motors, step motors move in exact increments. This allows
the computer to move the arm very precisely, repeating exactly the same
movement over and over again. The robot uses motion sensors to make sure
it moves just the right amount.
An industrial robot with six joints closely resembles a human arm -it
has the equivalent of a shoulder, an elbow and a wrist. Typically, the
shoulder is mounted to a stationary base structure rather than to a movable
body. This type of robot has six degrees of freedom, meaning it can pivot in
six different ways. A human arm, by comparison, has seven degrees of
freedom.

Arm geometries: The three general layouts for three dof are called
Cartesian, cylindrical, and polar. They are named for the shape of the
volume that the manipulator can reach and orient the gripper into any
position- the work envelope. Some of them x
use all sliding motion, some use only
pivoting joints some both.

Pivoting joints have a drawback of z

preventing the manipulator from reaching
every cubic centimeter of the work
envelope. Because the elbow can’t fold back
completely on itself. This creates dead
space- place where the arm can’t reach. That
is inside the gross work volume. On a robot
it is frequently required for the manipulator
to fold very compactly.

Cartesian or rectangular arm: A Cartesian robot arm uses three

linear motions, to move around a cube shaped working envelope. This
geometry is just like three dimensional XYZ
coordinate system, in fact it is how it is
controlled and how the working end moves
around the work envelope. There are two basic
layouts based on how the arm segments are y
supported, gantry and cantilevered.

Mounted on the front of a robot, the first

two dof of a cantilever Cartesian manipulator can
move left/right, up/down. The Y-axis is not
necessarily needed in a mobile robot because the
robot move back/ forward. It has the benefit of
requiring a very simple control algorithm.

Cylindrical arm: The body of this type is such that the robotic arm can
move up and down along a vertical member. The arm can rotate about that
vertical axis and the arm can also extend or contract. This construction
makes the manipulator able to work in a cylindrical space. The dimensions
of the cylindrical space are defined as, radius by the extent of the arm and
height by the movement along the vertical member.
The cylindrical manipulator base body has one
revolute joint at the fixed frame, one cylindrical joint
about the axis of rotation and one prismatic joint in the
arm of the manipulator.

The position of the end is defined by the

extension of the arm, height of the arm and rotation of
the main body axis. These are the three variables to be controlled to position
the end effectors of a cylindrical base robot. In other words this type of
structure forms a cylindrical coordinate system and be controlled the same
way.

Introduction to Autonomous vehicles: Autonomous

vehicles or automatic guided vehicles AGV are robotic vehicle which can
perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous
human guidance. Many kinds of robots have some degree of autonomy.
Different robots can be autonomous in different ways. A high degree of
autonomy is particularly desirable in fields such as space exploration,
cleaning floors, mowing lawns, and waste water treatment.

Some modern factory robots are autonomous within the strict confines of
their direct environment. It may not be that every degree of freedom exists in
their surrounding environment but the factory robot's workplace is
challenging and can often contain chaotic, unpredicted variables. The exact
orientation and position of the next object of work and.

A fully autonomous robot has the ability to

 Gain information about the environment.

 Work for an extended period without human intervention.
 Move either all or part of itself throughout its operating environment
without human assistance.
 Avoid situations that are harmful to people, property, or itself unless
those are part of its design specifications.

Omnidirectional vehicle and its need: An omni directional

vehicle is one which can move in any direction from any position without
changing its orientation. Due to the less floor area and narrow path space the
vehicle has to be holomomic, in order to quickly respond when commanded.
 Motion control classification of AGV’S: It can be classified as
open loop and the closed loop control system. In open loop system it not
required to measure the output of the system and perform any error
correcting step. While in close loop system there is a requirement of one or
more feedback sensors that measures and respond to the error in output
variables.

Close loop system: In close loop control system there is a feedback

loop that continuously compares the system’s response with input
commands or setting to correct error in motor and/or load speed, load
position or motor torque. They are also called servo systems.

MOTION AMPLIFIER MOTOR

CONTROLLER LOAD

FEEDBACK
MEASURMENT
SENSOR
ALTERNATIVES

Ex:

Velocity MOTION AMPLIF

CONTROLLER IER MOTOR LOAD
command (velocity)

FEED BACK
MEASURMENT MEARURMENT
SENSOR
(tachometer)
Open loop control system: In a typical open loop motion control
system it includes a stepper motor with a programmable indexer or pulse
generator and a motor driver, as shown in the figure the system does not
need any feedback sensor because load position and velocity are control by
the predetermined number and the direction of input of input digital pulse
sent to the motor driver from the controller.

MOTION Step
AMP LOAD
CONTROLER LIER motor

An open loop control system is that which have no feedback sensors and
hence load positioning is lower and position errors ( commonly called step
errors) accumulate over time. For these reasons the open loop systems are
most often specified in applications where the load remain constant and load
motion is simple and low position speed is acceptable.

Issues of wheel size and number of wheels in designing a

vehicle

Wheel size: In general larger the wheel, the larger the obstacle the
vehicle can get over. In most suspension and derivetrain system, a wheel
will be able to roll itself over an obstacle that is about one third the diameter
of the wheel. In a well designed four wheel vehicle it can be increased a
little, but the limit in the most suspension is something less than the half the
diameter of the wheel.
Three wheels are the minimum required for the static stability, the
three wheel robots are most common. Mobility and complexity is increased
by further adding of the more wheels. Let’s take a look on the wheel
vehicles in through order. The most basic vehicle will have minimum
number of the wheels. It also possible to make a one wheel vehicle but with
a limited mobility.

Two wheel vehicles: There are two obvious

layouts of two wheels, wheels side by side, wheels aft
and fore. A common bicycle is an example of this, but
for robot it yet difficult to use because of it is not
inherently stable. The side by side wheels is also not
inherently stable but easy to control at low speed.
Dean kamen developed the segway two wheel
balancing vehicle, proving it is proving it is possible,
and is actually fairly mobile. But it can’t get over
bumps much higher than one quarter a wheel height.

Three wheel layout: there are five possible layouts of a three

wheeled vehicle the most common and easiest to implement, but with,
perhaps the least mobility is presented by a kid’s tricycle. But powering only
one of the three wheels results in the lowering of the net traction, which
further lowers the motive force. In order to
improve the mobility the three wheels all
terrain cycle (ATC) was developed. In this the
rear two wheels are powered through
differential, and the front steer.

Increasing the mobility of three wheel vehicle

can also be accomplished by reversing the
layout, putting the two wheels in front. This
layout works fine for the low speed, but the
geometry is difficult to control at higher speed By various combinations of
as the force on the rear wheel tends to make the steering and driving each wheel
vehicle turn more sharply. different layouts are obtained

Steering with the front wheels on the reverse tricycle removes the
steering problem. But adds the complexity of steering and driving both
wheels. This layout allows the placing the more weight on the passive rear
wheel, significantly reducing the flipping over tendencies and mobility is
moderate. The layout is still dragging around the passive wheel , however,
and mobility is further enhanced if the wheel is powered.
 The most complicated and the highest mobility three wheel layout is
one where the all three wheels are powered and steered as well. This layout
is extremely versatile, providing motion in any direction without need of
moving the vehicle, this is called holonomic motion and is very useful for
robotic motion.

Four wheeled vehicles: The most basic four wheel vehicle actually
doesn’t use a differential. It has two wheels on each side that are coupled
together and is steered just like a differential steered tricycle. Since the
wheels are inline on each side and do not turn when a corner is commanded,
they slide as the vehicle turns. The sliding action gives the steering method
its name skid steering.
The problem with skid steering non suspended drive is that as the
vehicle goes over bumps, one wheel necessarily come off ground, this
problem doesn’t exist in two or three wheeled vehicles, but is more major to
deal with on vehicle with more than three wheels.

Five wheel layout: This is basically the tricycle layout, but with an
extra pair of wheels in the back to increase traction and ground contact area.
The front wheel is not normally powered and is only for steering. This is a
fairly simple layout relative to its mobility, especially if the side wheel
pairs are driven together through a simple chain or belt drive. Although
the front wheels must be pushed over obstacles, there is ample traction
from all that rubber on the four rear wheels.

Six wheel layout: The most basic six-wheeled vehicle, shown in

Figure 4-21, is the skid steered non-suspended design. This is very much
like the four-wheeled design with improved mobility simply because there is
more traction and less ground pressure because of the third wheel on each
side. The wheels
can be driven with chains, belts, or bevel gearboxes in a simple way,
making for a robust system. An advantage of the third wheel in the skid-
steer layout is that the middle wheel on each side can be mounted slightly
lower than the other two, reducing the weight the front and rear wheel pairs
carry. The lower weight reduces the forces needed to skid them around when
turning,
reducing turning power. The offset center axle can make the vehicle
Wobble a bit. Careful planning of the location of the center of gravity is
required to minimize this problem.
An even trickier layout adds two pairs of four-bar mechanisms
supporting the front and rear wheel pairs. These mechanisms are moved by
linear actuators, which raise and lower the wheels at each corner
independently. This semi-walking mechanism allows the vehicle to negotiate
obstacles that are taller than the wheels, and can aid in traversing other
difficult terrain by actively controlling the weight on each wheel. Skid
steering can be improved by adding a steering mechanism to the front pair of
wheels, and grouping the rear pair more closely together. The main problem
with these simple layouts is that when one wheel is up on a bump, the lack
of suspension lifts the other wheels up, drastically reducing traction and
mobility.

Tracked vehicles: Tracked vehicles uses tracks in place of the wheel to

overcome the limitations of the wheeled vehicles. The basic track formed by
a drive sprocket, idler, and road wheels. Tracks simplify the problem
somewhat and can climb stairs more smoothly than wheeled drivetrains,
allowing higher speeds, but they have difficulty staying aligned with the
stairs. Tracked vehicles uses the differential steering to steer the vehicle.
Advantage of tracked vehicles over the wheel vehicles:
There are some drawbacks of a wheeled vehicles such as it can’t get through
the soft terrains, and obstacles of a size that can be jammed between the two
wheels, and tracked vehicle facilitates solution of the same. There are a few
obstacles and terrains which would stop a six wheeled rocker bogie vehicle,
but not stop a similar sized tracked vehicle. They are-

• Very soft terrain: loose sand, deep mud, and soft powder snow
• Obstacles of a size that can get jammed between wheels
• Crevasses

Tracked get this higher mobility at a cost of greater complexity and lower
drive efficiency, so tracks are better for these situations, but not inherently
better overall.

Disadvantages of tracked vehicles:

 Most types have many more moving parts than a wheeled layout,
all of which tend to increase rolling friction.
  The greater number of moving parts also increase complexity, and
one
of the major problems of track design is preventing the track from
being thrown off the suspension system.

General description of vehicle movement: The figure

shown below demonstrates the forces acting on a vehicle while moving up a
grade. The tractive effort , Ft in the contact area between tires and driven
wheels and the road surface propels the vehicle forward. While the vehicle is
moving , there is resistance that tries to stop it’s movement. The resistance
generally includes rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag, and uphill
resistance. According to Newton’s second law, vehicle acceleration can be
written as
𝑑𝑉 Ft − Ftr
=
𝑑𝑡 𝛿𝑀

Where V is vehicle’s speed , Ft is total tractive effort of the vehicle,

Ftr, is total resistance , M is the total mass of vehicle, and 𝛿 is the mass
factor, which is an effect of rotating components in the power train.

The above equation indicates that speed and acceleration depends upon the
tractive effort, resistance and the vehicle’s mass.
Vehicle resistance: As shown in figure given below vehicle resistance
opposite it’s movement includes rolling resistance of tires, appearing in
figure a as rolling resistance torque Trf and Trr aerodynamics drag F , and
grading resistance( the term M vg 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛼 in figure ).

Rolling resistance: The rolling resistance of tires on hard surfaces is

primarily caused due to hysteresis in the tires materials this is due to the
deflection of the carcasses while the tire is rolling. The hysteresis causes the
unsymmetrical distribution of ground reaction forces. The pressure in the
leading half of contact area is larger than that in trailing half, as shown in
figure this phenomenon result in ground reaction force shifting forward. This
forwardly shifting ground reaction force, with the normal load acting on
wheel centre creates a moment , that opposes the rolling of wheel. On soft
surfaces, the rolling resistance is primarily caused by deformation of ground
as shown in figure b. the ground reaction force almost completely shifts to
the leading half.

FIGURE 2: Tire deflection and rolling resistance on a. hard b. soft road surface

The moment produced by the forward shift of the resultant ground reaction
force is called the rolling resistant moment, as shown in figure 2.a and can
be expressed as
Tr = Pa .
To keep the wheel rolling, a force F acting on the centre of the wheels, is
require to balance this rolling resistance moment. This force is expressed by
𝐓𝐫 𝐏𝐚
F= = = Pfr’
𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐝

Where rd is the effective radius of the tire and fr = a/rd is called the rolling
resistance coefficient. In this way the rolling resistance can be replaced
equivalently by a horizontal force acting on wheel centre in the opposite
direction of the moment of wheel. This equivalent force is called rolling
resistance with a magnitude of

Fr = P frr

Where P is the normal load acting on the centre of the rolling wheel.
The rolling resistance coefficient is the function of the tire material, tire
structure, tire temperature, tire inflation pressure, tread geometry, road
roughness, road material and presence and absence of liquid on the road.
The typical values of rolling resistance on various roads are given in table
below

Conditions Rolling
resistance

Car tires on concrete or asphalt 0.0013

Car tires on rolled gravel 0.02

Tar macadam 0.025

Unpvaved road 0.05

Field 0.1 – 0.2

Truck tires on concrete or asphalt 0.006 – 0.01

Wheels on rail 0.001 -0.002

Aerodynamic drag: when a vehicle travels at a particular speed into
the air the air encounters a force resisting its motion. This force is called the
aerodynamic drag. It mainly results from two components- shape drag and
skin drag.

Shape drag: the forward motion of vehicle pushes the air in front of it
however the air can’t instantaneously move out of the way and its pressure is
thus increased, resulting in high air pressure. In addition the air behind the
vehicle can’t instantaneously fill the space left by the forward motion of the
vehicle. This creates a zone of low air pressure. The motion has therefore
created two zones of pressure that oppose the motion of the vehicle by
pushing it forward ( high pressure in front) and pulling it backward( low
pressure in back) as shown in figure. The resultant force on the vehicle is the
shape drag.
Skin friction: air close to the vehicle moves almost at the speed of the
vehicle while air far from the vehicle remains still. In between the air
molecules move at a wide range of speed. The difference in the speed of the
two air molecules produces a friction that results in second component of the
aerodynamic drag.
Aerodynamic drag is a function of the vehicle speed V, vehicle front
area Af shape of the vehicle and air density ρ. Aerodynamic drag is
expressed as
1
Fw = 𝜌 A𝑓 Cd (V + Vw)2
2
Where cD = aerodynamics drag coefficient that characterizes the shape
of the vehicle and Vw is the component of the wind speed on the vehicle’s
moving direction which has a positive sign when air component is opposite
to the vehicle speed and negative when in the direction of the vehicle speed.
Grading resistance: when a vehicle goes up or down a slope, its weight
produces a component, which is always directed toward the downward
direction. This component either opposes the forward motion (grade
climbing) or helps the forward motion (grade descending). In vehicle
performance analysis only uphills operation is considered. This grading
force is usually called the grading resistance.
Fg = Mg sin∝
To simplify the equation the angle ∝ is replaced by the grade value. When
the road angle is small as shown in figure the grade is defined as
𝐻
i = = tan ∝ ≈ sin ∝
𝐿
the tire rolling resistance and grade resistance together are called road
resistance
Frd = Ff + Fg
= Mg (Fr cos∝ + sin ∝)
When ∝ is small
Frd = Ff + Fg
= Mg (Fr + i)
Methods of steering: When a vehicle is going straight the wheels or
tracks all point in the same direction and rotate at the same speed, but only if
they are all the same diameter. Turning requires some change in this system.
This can be obtain by many methods some popular methods are as follows

Differential steering : A differential wheeled robot is a mobile

robot whose movement is based on two separately
driven wheels placed on either side of the robot body.
It can thus change its direction by varying the relative
rate of rotation of its wheels and hence does not
require an additional steering motion.

If both the wheels are driven in the same direction

and speed, the robot will go in a straight line.
Otherwise, depending on the speed of rotation and its
direction, the centre of rotation may fall anywhere in
the line joining the two wheels. If both wheels are
turned with equal speed in opposite directions, as it is
clear from the diagram shown, the robot will rotate about the central point of
the axis.
Mechanism involved: A differential
drive, usually but not necessarily employing gears,
capable of transmitting torque and rotation
through three shafts, almost always used in one of
two ways. In one way, it receives one input and
provides two outputs; this is found in most
automobiles. In the other way, it combines two
inputs to create an output that is the sum, difference, or average, of the
inputs.

Input torque is applied to the ring gear(blue),

which turns the entire carrier (blue), providing
torque to both side gears (red and yellow), which in
turns may drive the left and right wheels. If the
resistance at both wheels is equal, the planet gear
(green) does not rotate. And both wheel turns at
same rate. If the left side gear (red) encounters
resistance, the planet gear (green) rotates about the left side gear, in turn
applying extra rotation to the right side gear (yellow).

Multiple drives: another way to drive a differential

steering is simply employing two or more driving sources.
It is very easy in operation but causes complexity in
employing. Also the failure of any of the driving sourse
will cause the complete demolishing of the whole
mechanism. Hence the reliability is halved. Also the gross
weight of the vehicle is increased by a considerable
amount, which is not desired.Some such drive systems are
shown in the figure below
Skid steering: The most basic four-wheeled vehicle actually doesn’t
even use a differential. It has two wheels on each side that are coupled
together and is steered just like differential steered tricycles. Since the
wheels are in line on each side and do not turn when a corner is commanded,
they slide as the vehicle turns. This sliding action gives this steering method
its name—Skid Steer.

Fundamental equation of steering: when an automobile

takes a turn on road, all the wheel should make concentric circle to ensure
that they roll on road smoothly and there is a line contact between the
surface of the path. This is achieved by mounting the two front wheels on
two short excel, pin jointed with the main front axle, known as stub axle.
Two rear wheels as rigidly mounted on the rear axle. The steering if thus
achieved by use of front wheel.

When vehicle is making a

turn towards one side, the front
wheel of that side must swing about
the pin through a greater angle than
the wheel of other side. The ideal
relation between the swings of two
wheels would be if the axle of stub,
when produced, intersects at a point
I on the common axis of the two
rear wheels as shown in the figure.
In that case, all the wheels of the
vehicle will move about a vertical
axis through, minimizing the tendency of the wheel to skid. Point I is called
the instantaneous centre of motion of four wheels.

Let θ and φ = angle turn by stub axles

l = wheel base

w = distance between the pivots of front axles

Then,
 𝑃𝑇 𝑄𝑇
cotφ = and cot θ=
𝑇𝑙 𝑇𝑙
𝑃𝑇−𝑄𝑇 𝑃𝑄 𝑤
cotφ – cotθ = = =
𝑇𝑙 𝑇𝑙 𝑙
This is known as fundamental equation of correct gearing.
Ackermann steering gear: Ackerman steering mechanism,
RSAB is a four bar chain as shown in fig.1.50. Links RA and SB which are
equal in length are integral with the stub axles. These links are connected
with each other through track rod AB. When the vehicle is in straight ahead
position, links RA and SB make equal angles α with the center line of the
vehicle. The dotted lines in fig.1.50 indicate the position of the mechanism
when the vehicle is turning left.
Let AB=l, RA=SB=r; PRˆ A  QSˆB   and in the turned position,
ARˆ A1   & BSˆB1   . IE, the stub axles of inner and outer wheels turn by θ
and φ angles respectively.
Neglecting the obliquity of the track rod in the turned position, the
movements of A and B in the horizontal direction may be taken to be same
(x).
dx dx
sin      sin     
Then, r and r

sin      sin     
2d
 2 sin 
Adding, r [1]
Angle α can be determined using the above equation. The values of θ and φ
to be taken in this equation are those found for correct steering using the
w
cot   cot  
equation L . [2]

This mechanism gives correct steering in only three positions. One, when θ
= 0 and other two each corresponding to the turn to right or left (at a fixed
turning angle, as determined by equation [1]).
The correct values of φ, [φc] corresponding to different values of θ, for
correct steering can be determined using equation [2]. For the given
dimensions of the mechanism, actual values of φ, [φa] can be obtained for
different values of θ. T he difference between φ c and φa will be very small
for small angles of θ, but the difference will be substantial, for larger values
of θ. Such a difference will reduce the life of tyres because of greater wear
on account of slipping.
But for larger values of θ, the automobile must take a sharp turn; hence is
will be moving at a slow speed. At low speeds, wear of the tyres is less.
Therefore, the greater difference between φc and φa larger values of θ ill not
matter.
As this mechanism employs only turning pairs, friction and wear in the
mechanism will be less. Hence its maintenance will be easier and is
commonly employed in automobiles
 c
R S

A'

A B
d x B'
x
P
d Q
Fig.1.49
Tracked Vehicle Steering: In order to steer a tracked vehicle, it is
necessary to drive one track faster than the other, causing the vehicle to turn
toward the slower track. This is called "skid steering" or "differential
steering". While the theory is simple.

Drive Systems: Brakes were required in simplest version of the

tracked vehicles, the simplest way to steer a tracked system was simply
steer by slowing one track by apply the brakes on one side.

Dual Drive: The simplest way to achieve this is to drive each track with a
separate power source. However, it has its drawbacks. First of all, it requires
two driving source. With all the attendant extra weight, complexity, and
maintenance headaches. In this case, two motors does not result in twice the
reliability, but half the reliability, as if either fails, the vehicle is effectively
immobilized and capable only of spinning in circles.

A second problem is that it becomes difficult to drive in a straight line.

Track speed is a function of power and ground drag ... while it is possible to
coordinate two driving source such that they produce the same amount of
power, it is highly unlikely that each track will experience the same amount
of drag, and as a result the tracks will turn at slightly different speeds
 Omni directional vehicle: Omnidirectional is use to describe the
ability of a system to move instantaneously in any direction from any
configuration. Omni directional vehicle have vast advantage over a
conventional vehicle in terms of mobility in congested environment. Path
planning in general is a difficult task, especially when considering vehicle
dynamics and moving obstacles. Omnidirectional vehicles have some
desirable properties:

1. They are very maneuverable, able to navigate tight quarters,and

2. Have few constraints on path planning.
Caster type two wheels ODV: Guiding mobile robots along
desired trajectories is an important problem in mobile robot navigation the
typical differential drive mechanisms used by many mobile robots, the
current position and orientation can be easily estimated. Two wheels Caster
Type (TWCT) is specially serve as ODV. In this mechanism the tricycle is
powered by the two rear wheels and the differential steering is used to steer
the rear wheels. This type of the vehicle provides the holononic steering. So
all the three wheels can be rotate in a circle which centre is at the middle of
the vehicle. This can be easily obtain by simply rotating the two rear wheels
in opposite directions with a same rate.

Four wheel ODV: The most basic four-

wheeled vehicle actually doesn’t even use a
differential. It has two wheels on each side that are
coupled together and is steered just like differential
steered tricycles. Since the wheels are in line on Frt2 Rear
each side and do not turn when a corner is 1
commanded, they slide as the vehicle turns. This
sliding action gives this steering method its name—
Skid Steer. For turning the vehicle about its centre
we can use two methods- 1. By driving each wheel
individually and keeping the direction of the wheels along the tangential
direction.
2. or rotating the wheels with the same amount but the direction of the two
same side wheels ( one rear and other front) opposite to the direction of the
two of the different side as shown in figure.
Introduction to Mecanum wheel:
Mecanum wheel is based on the principle of a
central wheel with a number of rollers placed at an
angle around the periphery of the wheel. Rollers
are mounted on angles as shown in Fig 1.The
sideview of the wheel is circular. This
configuration transmits a portion of the force in
the rotational direction of the wheel to a force
normal to the direction of the wheel.
The angled peripheral roller translates a portion of the force in the
rotational direction of the wheel to
force normal to the wheel directional.
Depending on each individual wheel
direction and speed, the resulting
combination of all these forces
produces a total force vector in any
desired direction thus allowing the
platform to move freely in direction of
resulting force vector, without
changing the direction of the wheel.
A demonstration of the different directional movement of
the vehicle is shown in the figure given below. Supposing
a situation when the vehicle have to move in a direction
perpendicularly right to the direction of movement of the
vehicle. To provide the vehicle such a moment the wheels
of the vehicle is driven in different manners as shown in
figure. The resultant component of the velocity vector is
in the direction of right side to that the movement of the
vehicle. In this case the magnitude of all the wheels
velocities is same, but in some other cases the magnitude
can also different. For different desired motion of vehicle direction of the
wheel motion is shown in fig. the velocities of the wheels are shown by the
length of the arrow.
Considerations in designing of a typical vehicle layout:
the general consideration in the designing of a typical vehicle are
 Purpose of the vehicle designing- number of wheels and wheel size,
chassis,
 Working ambience- availability of the space, nature of the ground,
suitable materials for tires etc
 Power requirements and the desired speed etc.
 Resistances offered by the environment- rolling resistance,
aerodynamic drag, grading resistance etc.

Designing of an autonomous vehicle for the load of about 600kg including

the self mass of the vehicle and a velocity of the 1.5 m/s with moderate
acceleration and the concrete surface and the normal working temperature
and indoor purpose.

The specification are given below

Number of wheels = 6
Mass of vehicle = 300 kg
Load on the vehicle = 300 kg
Linear velocity of the vehicle = 1.5m/s
Time taken to achieve the velocity from zero = 15 sec.
Dia of the wheel = 400 mm
= 0.4 m
Designing of a vehicle for the desired purpose:For the indoor uses
the vehicle should be omnidtrectional because of less floor area available for
the turning, so we will design an omnidirectional vehicle. The working
temperature is normal so the tires can be car tires. The standard value of the
rolling resistance for the concrete and the car tires is 0.013, as the velocity of
the vehicle is very low, for the given purpose, the aerodynamic drag can
safely neglected. Also the working surface is horizontal enough to leave the
grading resistance. So we’ll design the motor power only for the rolling
resistance.

Net force available for the acceleration of the vehicle

Fnet = force produced by the motor – total rolling resistance

Fnet  F   F rolling -------------(1)

Calculation of rolling resistance
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑
Load on each wheel =
𝑛𝑜 .𝑜𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠

300+300
P=
6

P = 100 kg
P = 100 ×9.81
P = 981 N

Rolling resistance on each wheel

Frolling = P × f r

Where f r is coefficient of rolling resistance, for car tires and concrete its
value is 0.013
Frolling = 981 × 0.013
= 12.75

Total rolling resistance on each wheel

𝐹 rolling = no. of wheels × rolling resistance of each wheel
𝐹 rolling = 6 × 12.75
=76.5 N

From the law of motion

Fnet = M . a

From equation (1)

F– Frolling = m. a
1.5
= 600×
15
= 60 N

 F = 60 + Frolling
 F = 60 + 76.5
=136.5N

Angular velocity of wheel

𝑣
ω=
𝑟
 1.5
=
0.2
= 7.5 R/s

Power required by the motor

P=F×v

P = 136.5 × 1.5
= 204.75 W
= 205 (suppose) watts

Taking a factor of safety equal to the 1.5

P = 205×1.5
= 307.5 watts
Hence the power required to drive the motor will be approximately 308
watts.

A possible layout of the vehicle: a possible layout of the vehicle

can be as shown below in which the wheel no. 1 &2 are the driving wheels
and the other are supporting. In the proposed layout the two driving wheels
are mounted in front and aft configuration in order to ensure that the vehicle
should not leave the ground contact at the inclined or when any wheel goes
over an obstacle.

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