Partial contact force controllability in active wheeled vehicles

This paper presents a geometric approach for solving the force distribution problem in active M herled vehicles (AWVs) moving on uneven surfaces. Here an active vehicle is defined as a system that includes independent actuato rs for all its internal joints. In general, AWVs do not possess omni-direct ional mobility, and the possess fewer activators than the number of wheel-g round contact force components. This article presents an approach for separ ating the contact force vectors into active and passive components such tha t there exists an invertible square matrix that maps the active contact for ces to the actuator efforts. An appropriate force allocation algorithm can then be developed for these systems. The concepts introduced in this articl e are demonstrated via an example of AWVs on uneven terrain. An example of force distribution in active legged vehicles (ALVs) that possess the same n umber of actuators as contact forces is also provided for comparison.