Gross motion characteristics of articulated mobile robots with pure rolling capability on smooth uneven surfaces

This paper presents the gross motion characteristics of articulated wheeled vehicles with slip-free motion capability on several kinds of smooth uneven surfaces. These vehicles possess variable length axles to eliminate kinematic slipping at the wheel-surface contacts. A numerical procedure to solve for the combined holonomic-nonholonomic set of equations that result from considering the exact kinematics of rolling on uneven surfaces is presented. The article provides insight into the relationship between variations in the axle lengths and kinematic parameters such as path curvature and vehicle-surface contact geometry