Design of a modular locomotion system for autonomous mobile robots

Abstract

Autonomous mobile robots are becoming more popular today and are successfully integrated into many civil and industrial projects. In the industrial sectors flexibility and modularity have an important role, so the production can be diversified and achieved with low costs. This paper presents the conceptual and functional design of a modular locomotion system for an autonomous mobile platform that can be configured according to the needs of the industrial environment it serves. The architecture of the locomotion system is based on a spring suspension system and three types of wheels: conventional wheels, omnidirectional wheels and mechanum wheels. The calculations for the chosen suspension system are presented, which ensure the contact with the ground for each type of wheel and the resignation calculations for the engine that will drive the wheel. Finally, some variants of configurations are presented that can be made on an autonomous mobile platform with these modules.