A Novel Control Architecture and Design of Hybrid Locomotion and Manipulation Tracked Mobile Robot

This paper presents a novel control architecture for a tracked hybrid mobile robot that was designed based on hybridization of the mobile platform and manipulator arm as one entity for robot locomotion as well as manipulation. The novel concept of the mechanical design is described and analyzed with the aid of a virtual prototype that was developed with multi-body dynamic motion simulation software. The simulation results were used to demonstrate the robot's expected functionality and demonstrate its capability while utilizing them for design optimization and ongoing construction of the first physical prototype. Along with the novel design we focus on a novel concept for on-board RF communication among robot's joints. This paper also summarizes the qualitative and quantitative performance of the hybrid robot in terms of mobility, communication, power, sensors, and control.