Research on a new omnidirectional mobile platform with heavy loading and flexible motion

This article presents an omnidirectional mobile platform with six mecanum wheels, which provide better carrying capacity than traditional four-wheel platform. Omnidirectional mobile platform with six mecanum wheels can withstand heavier load than the omnidirectional mobile platform with four mecanum wheels, which was used to transport large equipments used in marine and aerospace. Due to the small size, omnidirectional mobile platform with six mecanum wheels move more flexibly and reach desired position and pose easier in narrow workspace, compared with omnidirectional mobile platform with eight mecanum wheels whose disadvantage of large size offsets the advantage of zero turning radius. The kinematic model of the omnidirectional mobile platform with six mecanum wheel is established and verified through four kinds of motion state by the simulation (the omnidirectional mobile platform with six mecanum wheels moving along the Z axis, the X axis, the direction of which angle between positive X is 45°, and the omnidirectional mobile platform with six mecanum wheels rotating around the geometric center). The states of one wheel in failure have been analyzed in this article, taking into account the research levels of omnidirectional mobile platform with six mecanum wheels in the presence. The motion features of the platform with six mecanum wheels and four mecanum wheels are analyzed when certain wheels are locked-up or followed-up based on the force analysis of the wheels, and it proves that the platform with six mecanum wheels moves more stable than the platform with four mecanum wheels. In the presence of wheel failure, the platform still can move to the target location with gesture, due to its redundancy. This study contributes to the research of omnidirectional mobile platform with normal or failure mecanum wheels.