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Mobile robot structure design, modeling and simulation for confined space
application

Conference Paper · September 2016

DOI: 10.1109/ROMA.2016.7847808

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 MOBILE ROBOT STRUCTURE DESIGN,
MODELING AND SIMULATION FOR CONFINED
SPACE APPLICATION
A.A. A. Razak1 A.H.Abdullah1, K.Kamarudin1,F.S.A.Saad1, S.A.Shukor1,H.Mustafa1, M.A.A.Bakar1
School of Mechatronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Pauh Putra Campus, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia
ezat.islam89@gmail.com

Abstract— The atmospheric hazards that may be present in

confined space pose serious threat to human while carrying
special task in the respective location. Among the areas that are
considered as confined space are utility tunnel, boiler, storage
tank, sewage lines, man holes and underground electrical fault.
Currently, there is no specific technique to replace worker for
task such as collecting air sample in the confined space for
monitoring the hazards. A mobile robot integrated with an
electronic nose (e-nose) (i.e also called mobile olfaction) can be
used to maneuver through the environment and at the same time
monitor the hazards. In this paper a mobile robot structure is
designed, modeled and simulated for confined space application.
The mobile robot is designed to adopt four wheels skid-steering
driving mechanism to allow immediate and sharp turning. The
mathematical description of the robot is represented by static
kinematic model. The robot’s rectangular structure is built using
hollow rectangular mild steel bars. Simulation is done to analyse Figure 1. The confined space criteria [1]
the structure’s stress and displacement. The analysis of the
results indicates that the structure is suitable to be used for the This paper discusses the design of mobile robot structure for
confined space application.
confined space application. The structure and technical
Keywords : Mobile robot structure design, modeling, simulation, specifications are designed based on the specific application to
mobile olfaction, confined space. replace human for performing dangerous tasks, particularly
mobile olfaction [2].The criteria for the robot structure design
I. INTRODUCTION that have to be considered are shown in Fig. 2.
A confined space is an area whose structure or contents that
may present danger to the workers while perform job such as
repair, service or maintenance. The poorly ventilated zone in
the confined space will decrease the oxygen and increase
concentration of hazardous volatile compounds such as
Ammonia (NH3), Hydrogen Suphide (H2S) and Carbon
Monoxide (CO). The confined space small area condition is
preventing workers from a safe distance from potential
hazards induced by faulty mechanical or electrical system. The
chemical hazards can also be present due to the leakage of
flammable liquid in poorly ventilated area. The situations also
pose as potential hazards to the rescue personnel who
attempted to save the workers during an accident. So the
workers that are being assigned to work inside the confined
space should be equipped with proper equipment and training
on safety. Their safety should always be monitored while
performing the job. Also, the area safety aspect such as
minimum radius for entry and exit, ventilation system and
work space as shown by Fig. 1 must be properly studied
before performing their job [1]. Figure 2. The design criteria of mobile robot structure.

II. MOVEMENT TYPE AND WHEEL SELECTION
Mobile robot movement can either be using leg or wheel.
Legged robot normally consists of two or four legs for
movement [4]. While wheeled robot uses two, three of four
circular frame or disk arranged to revolve on an axis of the
body [3]. The structure must be stable during maneuver which
is an issue for both movement type; legged and wheeled robot
as it has small area of contact with ground [5]. So the selection
of movement type is typically dependent on the robot
application and targeted environment.
The environment in confined space normally is limited and
small so it is more suitable for wheel robot [1]. The wheel
robot structure design is quite easy and popular because of its
mobility, fast and energy efficient [5]. The robot structure
ground clearance and tire pattern will determine the efficiency
of power transfer from wheel to ground.
The robot application also will decide numbers of wheels
for weight distribution. Narrow wheels will be used for high
speed with low power consumption while wide wheels will be
selected for better grip [5].
Four wheel configurations are selected for the structure
design because of the easy control, good mobility and well
balance that is suitable for the confined space harsh
environment. The configuration is more stable because usually
the wheel is attached at each corner of either rectangular or
square shaped robot’s structure. The wheels are placed on the
right, left, front and back side of the robot’s structure that will
increase the development efficiency [5].
The wheel robot is stable and suitable for carrying heavy
load because of the structure’s even wheel will improve
contacts with ground. The centrifugal forces will ease the risk
of robot become unstable and rolling over while turning [5].
The configuration also provides an optimal surface area for
integrating robot components such as batteries, motors and
controller boards.
III. STEERING SELECTION
Mobile robot driving mechanism can be classified into three
types; skid steering, ackerman and axle articulated. Skid
steering driving mechanism which uses differential drive
concept is suitable for either tracks or wheels robot [7]. The
skid steering driving mechanism provides higher visibility and
normally easier to control by using joy-sticks or remote
control. But ackerman steering need to add more mechanical
structure to control the movement of robot.
For operation of mobile robot inside confined space, wheel-
skid steering driving mechanism is selected because of its
suitability with four wheel configuration. Two wheels on each
side that drive in the same direction are used for driving and
steering the robot [8]. The mechanism is based on controlling
the relative velocities of left and right side wheels, which is
similar to differential drive. The mechanism is simple and
quite robust with good traction make it suitable for rough
surface inside the confined space.
The robot can perform various postural and unique motions
with good stability and versatility [6]. The drive mechanism
will control driving motion, obstacle avoidance or rough
surface movement. It provides better maneuverability with
zero-radius turning and quite efficient for straight-line
movement [8].
IV. MATERIAL SELECTION
The type of material used for structure will determine the
durability and reliability of the robot. Costs, performance,
safety, risk, aesthetics and environmental impact are the
criteria to consider while selecting material for the robot’s
structure. The material selections are also influenced by the
structure design and the environment [9].
Most of the robot structures in the literature were made of
steel, aluminum or plastic [10]. Plastic is normally used in
remote controlled robots which usually complete with drive
system. However, plastic is unsuitable for the robot structure
material because its lack of durability and strength for extreme
conditions in confined space. Typically aluminum or steel are
used as the robot structure material because of its cost and
strength advantage.
By considering the young’s modulus for cost and strength
combination in Fig. 3, mild steel is selected for the robot
structure material. The selected material is also suitable for the
robot rectangular structure. Hollow rectangular mild steel bars
are used for robot’s structure to enhance the body strength and
increase its carrying load capacity.
Figure 3. Robot strength and cost correlation [11]
V. KINEMATICS
The mathematical description of skid steering mobile robot
is represented by kinematic model. The formulation is based
on the assumption that the robot moves on a planar surface.
The robot’s structure consists of four wheels (i.e two wheels
on the right side and another two wheels on the left side). The
robot’s movement is based on differential drive mechanism,
where the left and right wheels are organized independently.
First, assume the robot is moving on two dimensional plane
with inertial coordinate frame (Xg, Yg) as portrayed [12].

(3)
Then rewrite Equation (2) in the form below where S(q)
ℝ3x2 is a matrix and η ∈ ℝ2 is called as the control input vector
at kinematic level defined as Equation (4)

Fig 4. Four wheeled mobile robot kinematic [13]

The motion of the robot is appropriate to be designated and
express in the local frame attached with origin in its Center of
Mass (COM). The kinematic model of the robot is illustrated
in Fig. 4. The robot configuration vector in global coordinate
frames is shown in Equation (1).
Since the columns of S(q) are constantly in the null space of
S(q) the following expression is fulfilled Equation (5).
VI. STRUCTURE DESIGN
The mobile robot structure was designed by using
Solidwork software. The mobile robot dimension is 15 inch
length, 15 inch wide and 4.4 inch height shown by Fig. 5.

(1)

Where, X, Y and θ are the position and orientation of the

robot’s structure. The transformation between the local
velocities defined in the local coordinate frames attached on
the robot’s COM and the generalized velocities are shown by
Equation (2).

(2) Figure 5. Dimension of the mobile robot

One inch hollow rectangle bar mild steel is selected as the

Where, COM is d (0, b) is distance away from the Center
of Geometry (COG). The Coordinate of Instantaneous Center
of Rotation (ICR) is located on the axis that intersects COG as
shown in Fig. 2. In this case the nonholonomic operational
constraint that limits lateral skid is defined as Equation (3)
mobile robot’s structure material. The dimension of mobile
robot structure is 15 inch length, 15 inch wide and 4.4 inch
high as shows in Fig.6 overall design will ensure that the
contact points on the ground is square (i.e 15x15 inch) and
therefore minimizes skidding during rotation. The size of the
robot is also ideal for integration with other hardware such as
camera, sensors and additional controllers.
 Figure 8. Show mixed mesh of mobile robot structure

Based on the stress and displacement analysis the mixed

mesh is selected for the structure. The mixed mesh capable to
distribute force to the every node evenly with maximum 300N
of total load that can be apply to the structure which exceed
Figure 6. Dimension of the design structure the load of e-nose that around 20N.

The designed structure uses 10 inch standard size pneumatic

tyre as shown in Fig. 5. This type of tyre was selected as it Table 1Result of Stress Test
provides good grip to the floor that minimizes slip during
robot movement. Moreover, the pneumatic tyre could also Name Type Min Max
provide flexible cushion to absorb shock due to the typical Stress1 VON: von Nm-2 374623
rough surface of confined space area. Mises Stress at Node: N/m-2
Step No: 13 3725 Node: 3649
(1 Seconds)
VII. STRUCTURE SIMULATION
Solidwork software is used to analyse the structure’s stress
and displacement. The simulation output is based on the
parameters being set for the analysis. As shown in Fig.7 and
Fig. 8, the input parameter (i.e. input force) is set to 300
Newton (N) and the fixture was placed at the shaft of the
motor. The analysis indicates that the design robot’s structure
is suitable to be used in the confined space environment.

Table 2 Result of Displacement Test

Name Type Min Max

Displacement1 URES: 0 mm 0.000747624
Resultant Node: mm
Figure 7. Full assembly structure Displacement 3725 Node: 1360
at Step No:
13(1
Seconds)
 [4] N. B. Ignell and J. Matsson, “An overview of legged and wheeled
Name Type Min Max robotic locomotion .”, 2010.

[5] H. C. Berg, “T r m f,” pp. 19–54, 2003.

[6] M. Robot, “Design and Control of Steering Type Mobile Robot,” pp.
1–5.

[7] “Classification_of_Robots/wheel_control_theory.” [Online; accessed

14 Aprl -2016].Available:
http://www.robotplatform.com/knowledge/Classification_of_Robo
ts/wheel_control_theory.html.

[8] A. Koshiyama and K. Yamafuji, “Design and Control of an All-

Direction Steering Type Mobile Robot,” no. March, 1999.

[9] T. Material, S. Problem, M. Selection, M. Properties, and M. Cost,

“Engineering Design Projects.”

VIII. CONCLUSION [10] K. L. Edwards, “Materials & Design Selecting materials for
optimum use in engineering components,” vol. 26, pp. 469–473,
In this paper, the structure of mobile robot for confined 2005.
space application is designed, modeled and simulated. The
four wheeled mobile robot configuration with six inch [11] Material selection chart [Online accessed 15 APR 2016].
Available: http://www-
pneumatic tyre is selected for the structure design. The robot is materials.eng.cam.ac.uk/mpsite/interactive_charts/strength-
easy to control, stable with good mobility and suitable for the cost/NS6Chart.html.
confined space’s harsh atmosphere. The skid steering driving [12] K. R. Kozłowski and D. A. Pazderski, “MODELING AND
mechanism was selected since it is simple and robust with CONTROL OF A 4-WHEEL SKID-STEERING MOBILE
ROBOT,” vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 477–496, 2004.
good traction for rough surface environment. The
mathematical description of 4-wheeled skid steering mobile [13] S. Arslan and H. Temelta, “Robust Motion Control of a Four
robot is represented by static kinematic model. The robot Wheel Drive Skid-Steered Mobile Robot,” pp. 1–4, 2011.
rectangular structure is made of hollow rectangular mild steel
bars that will enhance the body strength and increase the load
capacity. Simulation is done on the robot to analyse the
structure’s stress and displacement. The results indicate that
the designed robot’s structure is suitable to be used for
confined space, particularly for mobile olfaction application.
In the future the robot’s structure could be designed to have
adjustable body size for improved flexibility in confined
space.

IX. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research work is partly funded by the Ministry of
Science, Technology & Innovation of Malaysia under the
Science Fund Grant Scheme (Project No: 9005-00066). The
author also gratefully acknowledges to Universiti Malaysia
Perlis (UniMAP) for the opportunities given to do the
research.

REFERRENCES
[1] Occupational. safety and health Administration, Protecting
Construction Workers in Confined Spaces :Small Entity
Compliance Guide. 2015.
[2] NASA: The ROVER Ranch Types of robots
http://prime.jsc.nasa.gov/ROV/types.html [Online; accessed 13
APR-2012.]
[3] K. L. Edwards, “Materials & Design Selecting materials for
optimum use in engineering components,” vol. 26, pp. 469–473,
2005.

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