Wheel Slip Detection for Electric Drive in Planetary Exploration Vehicles

Abstract

This article illustrates a technique for tracking longitudinal wheel slips in real time using an embedded microcontroller to map current consumption against real-time current consumed by the engine. This system can be used and operated separately of each other on more than one wheel. To detect wheel slippage, a predefined slip curve mapped to a specific DC electric motor is mapped against the current consumed by the same operational motors. This paper also recommends a convenient control algorithm to calculate its slippage of the wheel in real time. This approach is implemented using distinct load and terrain on a planetary exploration robot.