TRANSPORT TECHNICS. INVESTIGATION OF ELEMENTS. RELIABILITY
Control System Concept for an Omnidirectional Mobile Platform: Modeling and Design Aspects
- 1 AGH University of Krakow, Poland
Abstract
This paper presents a comprehensive concept for the control system of a four-wheeled omnidirectional mobile platform equipped with mecanum wheels, intended for industrial applications under the Industry 4.0 paradigm. The platform is modeled both kinematically and dynamically, with a nonlinear rigid-body formulation that incorporates Coriolis effects and rolling resistance. Particular attention is paid to the challenges arising from strong coupling between translational and rotational motion. To overcome the limitations of conventional control methods in complex and dynamic environments, a reinforcement learning strategy based on an actor–critic architecture is proposed. The agent is trained in a virtual warehouse scenario using simulated lidar data as sensory input, allowing it to learn effective policies for collision-free navigation. The continuous action space is mapped to wheel angular velocities through scaled hyperbolic tangent activations, enabling direct and fine-grained control of the platform. The proposed control system is designed for modularity, robustness, and scalability, making it a promising candidate for autonomous logistics and adaptive robotic applications in smart manufacturing environments.
Keywords
References
- Y. Liu, J. J. Zhu, R. L. Williams, and J. Wu, ―Omni-directional mobile robot controller based on trajectory linearization,‖ Robotics and Autonomous Systems, vol. 56, no. 5, pp. 461–479, 2008. [Online]. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092188900 7001431
- M. R. Azizi, A. Rastegarpanah, and R. Stolkin, ―Motion planning and control of an omnidirectional mobile robot in dynamic environments,‖ Robotics, vol. 10, no. 1, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-6581/10/1/ 48
- X. Li and A. Zell, Motion Control of an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2009, pp. 181–193. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1007/ 978-3-540-85640-5 14
- F. Nesci, F. Amato, D. Dragone, C. Cosentino, and A. Merola, ―Control of a three-wheeled omnidirectional mobile robot via a mixed ftb/h approach,‖ International Journal of Dynamics and Control, vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 3461–3471, 2024.
- S. G. Tzafestas, T. Krikochoritis, and A. Melfi, Modeling and Control of an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot. Boston, MA: Springer US, 2000, pp. 391–402. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-35529-0 37
- X. Li and A. Zell, ―Motion control of an omnidirectional mobile robot,‖ in Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics. Springer, 2008, pp. 181–193.
- C. Caceres, J. Ros´ ario, and D. Amaya, ―Design, simulation, and´ control of an omnidirectional mobile robot,‖ International Review of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 12, no. 4, p. 382, 2018.
- S. Ma, C. Ren, and C. Ye, ―An omnidirectional mobile robot: Concept and analysis,‖ in 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), 2012, pp. 920–925.
- T. Terakawa, M. Komori, K. Matsuda, and S. Mikami, ―A novel omnidirectional mobile robot with wheels connected by passive sliding joints,‖ IEEE/ASME Transactions On Mechatronics, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 1716–1727, 2018.
- P. Bałazy, P. Gut, and P. Knap, ―Positioning algorithm for agv autonomous driving platform based on artificial neural networks,‖ Robotic Systems and Applications, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 41–45, 2021.
- Z. Zhewen, Y. Hongliu, W. Chengjia, H. Pu, and W. Jiangui, ―A comprehensive study on mecanum wheel-based mobility and suspension solutions for intelligent nursing wheelchairs,‖ Scientific Reports, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 20644, 2024.
- P. S. Yadav, J. Mohanta, V. Agrawal, and M. F. Ahmed, ―Vibration-reducing modelling of a mecanum wheel based on equivalent stiffness and strength analysis,‖ Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering, p. 09544089231212594, 2023.