Omni‐directional vehicle control based on body configuration

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a new wheel control scheme for wheeled vehicle with passive linkage mechanism which realizes high step‐overcoming performance. Design/methodology/approach – Developing wheeled vehicle realizes omni‐directional motion on flat floor using special wheels and passes over non‐flat ground using the passive suspension mechanism. The vehicle changes its body shape and wheel control references according to ground condition when it runs over the rough terrain. Findings – Utilizing the proposed wheel control scheme, the slip ratio and the disturbance ratio of the wheel reduce when the vehicle passes over the step and its step‐overcoming performance is improved. Originality/value – The paper's key idea is modification of its kinematic model referring to the body configuration dynamically and using this model for wheel control of the vehicle. The controller adjusts the wheel control references when the vehicle passes over the rough terrain changing the body shape and reduces the slippage and the rotation error of wheels.