Advanced Tools for Multi-Body Simulation and Design of Control Structures Applied in Robotic System Development

The paper deals with a design of a 3-wheeled mobile robot based on Mecanum omnidirectional wheels. The 3D CAD geometry model was initially prepared with Pro-Engineer. The key issue with respect to design methodology reported in this research work is related to the application of co-simulation strategy. System ADAMS, intended for multi-body simulations, was used to evaluate dynamic behavior of the robot platform. MATLAB/Simulink was applied for testing the performance and control of structures. The co-simulation strategy consists mainly in application of ADAMS and MATLAB simultaneously, in one loop, utilizing its respective advantages. Further, as an alternative way to cover both multi-body and control aspects, Chrono::Engine system (by A. Tasora) was introduced in this work.