Dynamics and Control of a Planar Multibody Mobile Robot for Confined Environment Inspection

In this paper, we study the dynamics of an articulated planar mobile robot for confined environment exploration. The mobile vehicle is composed of n identical modules hitched together with passive revolute joints. Each module has the structure of a four-bar parallel mechanism on a mobile platform. The dynamic model is derived using Lagrange formulation. Computer simulations illustrate the model by addressing a path following problem inside a pipe. The dynamic model presented in this paper is the basis for the design of motion control algorithms that encode energy optimization and sensor performance maximization.