Speed consensus control for a parallel six-wheel-legged robot on uneven terrain.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Control Systems
• Mechatronics

Background:

• Wheel-legged robots face challenges with uneven terrain due to speed inconsistencies and environmental disturbances.
• These disturbances can reduce driving smoothness and lead to operational failures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel speed consensus control (SCC) method for improving the traversal of uneven terrain by wheel-legged robots.
• To enhance driving smoothness and robustness against disturbances.

Main Methods:

• A distributed consensus algorithm (DCA) was used to achieve speed consensus among the robot's body and wheels, treating them as a multi-agent system.
• Linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC) was applied to mitigate model uncertainties and environmental disturbances, ensuring precise tracking of desired wheel speeds.

Main Results:

• The combined DCA and LADRC method effectively enhanced the smoothness of wheel-legged robot traversal over uneven terrain.
• Simulations and experiments on the BIT-NAZAII robot validated the proposed control strategy's performance.

Conclusions:

• The proposed SCC method, integrating DCA and LADRC, offers a robust solution for smooth and stable locomotion of wheel-legged robots on challenging terrains.
• This approach significantly improves the robot's ability to handle environmental uncertainties and model variations.