Furthering the aim of reducing human exposure to hazardous environments,
this monograph presents a detailed study of the modeling and control of
vehicle-manipulator systems. The text shows how complex interactions can
be performed at remote locations using systems that combine the
manipulability of robotic manipulators with the ability of mobile robots
to locomote over large areas.
The first part studies the kinematics and dynamics of rigid bodies and
standard robotic manipulators and can be used as an introduction to
robotics focussing on robust mathematical modeling. The monograph then
moves on to study vehicle-manipulator systems in great detail with
emphasis on combining two different configuration spaces in a
mathematically sound way. Robustness of these systems is extremely
important and Modeling and Control of Vehicle-manipulator Systems
effectively represents the dynamic equations using a mathematically
robust framework. Several tools from Lie theory and differential
geometry are used to obtain globally valid representations of the
dynamic equations of vehicle-manipulator systems.
The specific characteristics of several different types of
vehicle-manipulator systems are included and the various application
areas of these systems are discussed in detail. For underwater robots
buoyancy and gravity, drag forces, added mass properties, and ocean
currents are considered. For space robotics the effects of free fall
environments and the strong dynamic coupling between the spacecraft and
the manipulator are discussed. For wheeled robots wheel kinematics and
non-holonomic motion is treated, and finally the inertial forces are
included for robots mounted on a forced moving base.
Modeling and Control of Vehicle-manipulator Systems will be of
interest to researchers and engineers studying and working on many
applications of robotics: underwater, space, personal assistance, and
mobile manipulation in general, all of which have similarities in the
equations required for modeling and control.
