Development of a Holonomic Mobile Robot for Mobile Manipulation Tasks

FSR’99 International Conference on Field and Service Robotics, Pittsburgh, PA, Aug. 1999 Mobile manipulator systems hold promise in many industrial and service applications including assembly, inspection, and work in hazardous environments. The integration of a manipulator and a mobile robot base places special demands on the vehicle’s drive system. For smooth accurate motion and coordination with the manipulator a holonomic, vibration-free wheel system which can be dynamically controlled is preferred. The work presented here is part of the commercial efforts of Nomadic Technologies Inc. and continuing research at the Stanford University Computer Science Robotics Laboratory focused on dextrous mobile manipulation.