Study of a Moment Suspension Mechanism for Off-Road Operation of a Multi-Terrain Mobile Robot

Abstract To effectively improve the adaptability and traversal abilities of a multi-terrain mobile robot under the dynamic excitation of multiple roads, we explore the mobile robot’s vibration and joint driving output stall caused by the dynamic excitation of the road spectrum function and analyze techniques for reducing the vibration and enhancing the driving moment of a four-wheel differential-speed mobile robot. A double-wishbone vibration reduction suspension and a moment compensator were designed for a multi-terrain mobile robot by theoretically describing its suspension-wheel-road dynamics. Also, the mobile robot's road adaptability and traversal abilities were mathematically characterized under dynamic excitation. Co-simulation in ADAMS-MATLAB/Simulink is performed such as the harsh condition of in situ rotation and outdoor experimental schemes are implemented in which the experimental data are analyzed. The experimental result verifies the correctness of the theoretical analysis, as well as the effectiveness of the vibration reduction suspension and the moment compensator. The compatibility of the mobile robot's driving mechanisms with road traversal abilities has been improved under various terrain conditions in complex field operation scenarios.