Wheeled Mobile Robot H.I.L. Interface: Quadrature Encoders Emulation With A Low-Cost Dual-Core Microcontroller

Mobile robots (MR) simulation software solutions are already available. Usually, these software packages are focused on fully simulating MR operation with virtual worlds, virtual sensors or actuators and virtual robots. This paper discusses the use of a Hardware-In-Loop (HIL) simulation interface for wheeled mobile robots for the purpose of saving precious time for researchers in order to allow them to test different algorithms and to do code improvements on the remote or local controllers without having to take care of the physical movement of the robot under test. This article places a particular emphasis on emulating wheel encoders.