A novel motion control and sensing architecture for a two-axle compliant framed wheeled modular mobile robot (CFMMR) is proposed in this paper. The CFMMR is essentially a cooperative mobile robotic system with complex physical constraints and highly nonlinear interaction forces. The architecture combines a kinematic controller for coordinating motion and providing reference commands, robust dynamic controllers for following these commands and rejecting disturbances, and a sensor fusion system designed to provide accurate relative posture estimates. Requirements for each of these subsystems and their respective interconnections are defined in this paper in order to optimize system performance. Experimental results compare performance of the proposed architecture to sub-optimal configurations. Results derived from seven groups of experiments based upon 35 individual tests validate superiority of the architecture.

A novel motion control and sensing strategy for a two-axle compliant framed wheeled modular mobile robot (CFMMR) is studied in this paper. This type of wheeled mobile robot uses rigid axles coupled by compliant frame modules to provide both full suspension and enhanced steering capability without additional hardware. The proposed control and sensing system is developed by combining a curvature-based kinematic controller, a robust dynamic motion controller and a sensor fusion algorithm incorporating relative position sensors. Experimental results verify improved motion control of posture regulation

Abstract- A sensor fusion algorithm for flexible framed modular mobile robots is presented in this paper. This algorithm uses traditional Kalman filters and rigid axle kinematic models to predict the global posture of each axle. A Covariance Intersection filter is then proposed for fusing these axle modules using data provided by the compliant frame module. Modeling and instrumentation of the compliant frame module is the remaining focus. The instrumented frame is required to estimate the relative posture of the axles as well as the force components and moment that the beam exerts on each axle. These estimates must also be valid for large deflections in order to accommodate a reasonable turning radius. To accomplish these goals the beam equations are derived. A linear interpolation of the strain gauge data is used to calculate posture, force, and moment estimates. Experimental results show that the frame module can yield accurate relative posture estimates for large deflection. 1.