Control of the angular orientation of the platform of a uniaxial wheeled module moving without slippage over an underlying surface

Abstract

A method for controlling the angular orientation with respect to the horizon plane of the platform of a uniaxial wheeled module moving without slippage over the underlying surface is considered. For a module involving a one-axis gyroscope, a compensating flywheel, and a stabilizing weight, equations of motion are derived, which describe the module as a nonholonomic system due to the absence of slippage of its wheels over the underlying surface. The conditions for the “force of undisturbability” of the platform by the inertial forces upon its arbitrary translational-rotational motion and the conditions for “informational undisturbability” by the inertial forces of the accelometric sensor of the deviation of the platform from the horizon plane are determined. The analytical relationships determining the conditions for the absence of slippage of the wheels are found. By numerical simulation, rational values of the coefficient in the laws governing the moments of forces developed by the control elements of the structure are obtained. The effectiveness of these laws is confirmed by the results of simulating the control processes over the angular motion of the platform of the module along a typical trajectory of its motion over the underlying surface.