Kinematic Analysis and Motion Control of Wheeled Mobile Robots in Cylindrical Workspaces

Wheeled mobile robots (WMRs) are often used for maintenance of round pipes or ducts, which can typically be represented as a cylindrical workspace. Working in round pipes or ducts, kinematic models of WMRs are different from those applying on a plane and thus pose significant challenges in terms of kinematic analysis and motion control. To address these challenges, the kinematic properties of WMRs in a cylindrical workspace are analyzed in this paper. First, we discuss the kinematic properties of a single wheel in a cylindrical workspace. Then, we analyze the geometric constraints of WMRs in round pipes or ducts with analytical geometry. Based on these analyses, kinematic properties of WMRs in cylindrical workspaces are discussed with screw theory. A control law based on biaxial clinometer information is proposed, and it enables the robot to move horizontally in round pipes or ducts. Finally, the motion of a single wheel purely rolling in a cylindrical workspace is simulated. Experiments using a car-like mobile robot moving in round ducts are carried out to show the feasibility of the proposed algorithm.