Design and Control of a Spherical Robot Using Pendulum and Momentum Wheels

Spherical robot has good potential for complex environment adaptation, but the single internal driving principle limits its multifaceted performance. In this paper, we present a composite driving principle which uses pendulum and momentum wheels. The abilities to change motion state and surmount obstacles have been improved. This article also contains the dynamic analysis and a controller of this driving principle. Finally, we implement necessary simulations and experiments to prove the performance of this driving principle in both aspects.