There are many scenarios where planar AWRs could benefit from reconfigurability (which in the past has often only been explored in the context of uneven terrain locomotion). For instance, the robot base may need to be compact when passing a narrow doorway and be extended to enhance stability when manipulating heavy objects. Hence we examine a wheeled platform design (with active articulations and actively driven disk wheels) for the purpose of achieving omnidirectional mobility together with the ability to reconfigure for different tasks.

We propose a novel planar reconfigurable omnidirectional articulated wheeled mobile robot (ROAMeR). This robot distinguishes from existing planar mobile robot by having capability to change the location of all the caster wheels. The modeling and control complexity of the ROAMeR increase with the addition of these articulations and their interaction with the contact constraints. The physical prototype is controlled using an onboard embedded computer running a real-time operating system. We will then use the physical prototype to verify our design and control.

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- Qiushi Fu, M.S., University at Buffalo [Graduated]

- Xiaobo Zhou, PhD Candidate, University at Buffalo

1. Obstacle Avoidance with Reconfiguration

- The RoMeR avoids the obstacle by "shrinking" its legs while tracking the trajectory.

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Q. Fu and V. Krovi, "Articulated Wheeled Robots: Exploiting Reconfigurability and Redundancy," in Proceedings of 2008 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference, DSCC2008-130, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA., 2008.

Q. Fu, "Kinematics of Articulated Wheeled Robot: Exploiting Reconfigurability and Redundancy," M.S. Thesis, Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, SUNY at Buffalo, Buffalo, Sep. 2008.