Synthesis of an inspection modular robot’s design

The paper presents a methodology for designing computer models of mobile robots, and also shows the results of computer simulations using mathematical algorithms to determine the trajectory of the robot. The methodology includes creating a modular robot design using the Solidworks design system, creating its computer model in the ROS programming software, and simulating the behavior of the model in the Gazebo simulation environment. An algorithm for moving a modular wheeled robot consisting of modules with a movable wheel pair has been developed. The advantage of this algorithm compared to the previous one (with modules with a fixed wheel pair) is that the slave modules follow strictly along the trajectory of the leading module. This increases the cross-country ability when the robot moves on a plane bypassing obstacles and increases the accuracy of work (scanning, repair, cleaning, etc.) in the configuration of a pipe inspection robot. The simulation results showed that the behavior of the robot model corresponds to computational experiments conducted on the basis of previously developed mathematical models. The technique was applied to the development of a computer model of a wheeled modular mobile robot. During the simulations, it was found that the presence of movable wheel pairs in the robot modules allows eliminating deviations in the trajectories of slave modules from the trajectory of the leading module. Taking this into account, a model of a three-link wheeled robot was built based on modules with a movable wheel pair. To check the operability of the assembledmodel and the correctness of the drive installation, a control circuit was assembled based on the STM32F407 Discovery debug board and stepper motor drivers. The resulting technique can be used to conduct computer experiments to study the kinematics and dynamics of the developed designs of modular robots in workspaces with a complex topology, for example, in pipelines.