Through their ability to navigate and perform tasks in unstructured environments, robots have made their way into applications like farming, earth moving, waste clean-up and exploration All mobile robots use locomotion that generates traction, negotiates terrain and carries payload Well-designed robotic locomotion also stabilizes a robot's frame, smooths the motion of sensors and accommodates the deployment and manipulation of work tools Because locomotion is the physical interface between a robot and its environment, it is the means by which it reacts to gravitational, inertial and work loads Locomotion is the literal basis of a mobile robot's performance 
Despite its significance, locomotion design and its implications to robotic function have not been addressed In fact, with the exception of a handful of case studies, the issue of how to synthesize robotic locomotion configurations remains a topic of ad hoc speculation and is commonly pursued in a way that lacks rationalization This thesis focuses on the configuration of wheeled robotic locomotion through the formulation and systematic evaluation of analytical expressions called configuration equations These are mathematical functions which capture quantitative relationships among configuration parameters (eg, wheel diameter, chassis articulation location), performance parameters (eg drawbar pull, maximum gradeable slope) and environmental/task parameters (eg soil geophysical properties, density and size of obstacles) Solutions to the configuration equations are obtained in parametric form to allow for comprehensive characterization of variant locomotion concepts as opposed to searching for point designs Optimal configuration parameters are sought in the context of three indices of performance: trafficability, maneuverability and terrainability 
The derivation of configuration equations, the estimation and optimization of configuration parameters and predictions of performance are performed in a computational framework called Locomotion Synthesis (LocSyn) LocSyn offers a practical approach to rationalizing configuration design of robotic locomotion through quantitative studies 
The configuration of Nomad, a planetary prototype robot for exploration of barren terrain is a case illustrating the implementation and evaluation of the Locomotion Synthesis (LocSyn) framework put forth by this thesis

/pdf/analytical-configuration-of-wheeled-robotic-locomotion-w3wnrzavhl.pdf

Analytical configuration of wheeled robotic locomotion

The need for light weight yet highly mobile robotic platforms is driven by the limitation of available power. With unlimited energy, surface exploration missions could survive for months or years and greatly exceed their current productivity. The Sun-Synchronous Navigation project is developing long-duration solar-powered robot exploration through research in planning techniques and low-mass robot configurations. Hyperion is a rover designed and built for experiments in sun-synchronous exploration. This paper details Hyperion's steering mechanism and control, which features 4-wheel independent drive and an innovative passively articulated steering joint for locomotion.

/pdf/steering-and-control-of-a-passively-articulated-robot-2ozugtmh67.pdf

Steering and control of a passively articulated robot

Dynamics of Four-Wheel-Steer Off-Highway Vehicles

Design characteristics of steering systems for mobile wheeled earthmoving equipment

Robotic tasks call for a range of steering activity: one extreme is highway driving with negligible turning for hundreds of kilometers; another is forklift handling, which calls for agile turning. The scope of this thesis considers steady state turning of a wheeled vehicle on natural terrain with slow but capable locomotors characteristic of planetary robotic vehicles. Experiments are performed using a single vehicle that can exhibit both skid and explicit steering while driving steady state circles. Skid steering is accomplished by creating a differential velocity between the inner and outer wheels. Explicit steering is accomplished by changing the heading of the wheels to cause a change in heading of the vehicle. Experimental results are gathered to provide information regarding power draw, individual wheel torque, and position information. The experimental results show that power and torque for skid and explicit turning degenerate to equal values at infinite radius (straight driving). As the turn radius decreases from straight driving to a point turn, greater power and torque are required as a greater sideslip angle is encountered. For all turns skid steering requires greater power and torque than for explicit turning because sideslip angles are greater in all cases. In the limiting case of a point turn, the power for skid steering is approximately double that of an explicit point turn. The primary contribution of this research is the experimental quantification of the power and torque requirements over turn radii from zero to infinity.

/pdf/experimental-comparison-of-skid-steering-vs-explicit-4tewijl7r5.pdf

Experimental Comparison of Skid Steering Vs. Explicit Steering for a Wheeled Mobile Robot

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s43452-021-00212-8.pdf

On the energy losses due to tracks vibrations in rubber track crawler vehicles

One of the current trends in industrial wheeled vehicles is to increase their mobility, i.e. the ability to travel at speeds ranging from 50 even up to 100 km/h, e.g. military engineering machines. As a result of the high demands put on such vehicles several previously unknown problems with their dynamics have come to light. The paper presents the results of experimental and MSC Adams view simulation tests for snaking movement of an articulated frame steer vehicle such as bucket loader. The model precisely accounts for machine units’ mass and geometry along with their inertia. Additionally, the model includes hydrostatic steering gear submodel and its geometry and the submodel of a drive train with dynamic properties of multi-dimensional tyres as well. Experimental and virtual tests demonstrated that directional dynamics of articulated frame steer wheeled vehicles are largely affected by total (equivalent) steering gear torsional stiffness, dynamic properties of largesize tyres and type of vehicle’s wheel drive. Simulation studies used the results of experimental studies whereby the simulation outcome provides interesting and original guidelines for articulated frame steer vehicles manufacturers.

http://yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/element/bwmeta1.element.baztech-article-BUJ8-0018-0011/c/httpwww_bg_utp_edu_plartjournal20of20kones12012j20o20kones20201220no20120vol_201920dudzinski.pdf

Directional dynamics problems of an articulated frame steer wheeled vehicles

The problems of multi-axle vehicle drives☆

A method for predicting the internal motion resistance of rubber-tracked undercarriages, Pt. 1. A review of the state-of-the-art methods for modeling the internal resistance of tracked vehicles

Piotr A. Dudziński

Papers

Design characteristics of steering systems for mobile wheeled earthmoving equipment

On the energy losses due to tracks vibrations in rubber track crawler vehicles

Directional dynamics problems of an articulated frame steer wheeled vehicles

The problems of multi-axle vehicle drives☆

A method for predicting the internal motion resistance of rubber-tracked undercarriages, Pt. 1. A review of the state-of-the-art methods for modeling the internal resistance of tracked vehicles