Analysis and Control for an Omnidirectional Mobile Manipulator

This paper describes analysis and control for a holonomic omnidirectional mobile manipulator, in which the holonomic omnidirectional platform consists of three lateral orthogonal wheel assemblies and a mounted manipulator with three rotational joints is located at the center of gravity of the platform. We first introduce the kinematic model for the mobile manipulator and derive the dynamical model by using the Newton–Euler method, where a model which simultaneously takes account of features of both the manipulator and the mobile parts is given to analyze the effect of the movement of mounted manipulator on the platform. Then, the computed torque control and the resolved acceleration control methods are used to show that the holonomic omnidirectional mobile manipulator can be controlled so as to retain any end-effector position and orientation, irrespective of the direction of external applied force. The validity of the model and the effectiveness of the present mobile manipulator are proved by using several numerical simulations and 3D animations.