Dynamic Coupling and Indirect Control of Jointed Robots Rolling Atop A Moving Platform

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Moradi, Hamidreza, Kelly, Scott David
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Moradi, Hamidreza
Kelly, Scott David
author_facet Moradi, Hamidreza
Kelly, Scott David
contents An asymmetric two-link robot supported atop a flat platform by wheels that roll and pivot freely, but do not slip laterally, will develop forward momentum if the joint between the links is actuated internally. In particular, oscillations in the joint angle will generate undulatory locomotion suggesting fishlike swimming. If two such robots surmount a common platform that's free to translate with its own inertial dynamics, then the individual robots' dynamics will be coupled so that the locomotion of either robot is affected by that of the other. We develop a mathematical model for this system and present simulations demonstrating its behavior. We then consider a single robot with an unactuated joint rolling atop a platform that moves under control, and show that actuation of the platform is sufficient to dictate the robot's behavior. In particular, with the acceleration of the platform as an input, the robot's heading can be made to track a chosen function of time. This is sufficient to guarantee that the robot can be induced to orbit a fixed point on the platform or to locomote persistently in a desired direction.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_22104
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dynamic Coupling and Indirect Control of Jointed Robots Rolling Atop A Moving Platform
Moradi, Hamidreza
Kelly, Scott David
Robotics
Differential Geometry
An asymmetric two-link robot supported atop a flat platform by wheels that roll and pivot freely, but do not slip laterally, will develop forward momentum if the joint between the links is actuated internally. In particular, oscillations in the joint angle will generate undulatory locomotion suggesting fishlike swimming. If two such robots surmount a common platform that's free to translate with its own inertial dynamics, then the individual robots' dynamics will be coupled so that the locomotion of either robot is affected by that of the other. We develop a mathematical model for this system and present simulations demonstrating its behavior. We then consider a single robot with an unactuated joint rolling atop a platform that moves under control, and show that actuation of the platform is sufficient to dictate the robot's behavior. In particular, with the acceleration of the platform as an input, the robot's heading can be made to track a chosen function of time. This is sufficient to guarantee that the robot can be induced to orbit a fixed point on the platform or to locomote persistently in a desired direction.
title Dynamic Coupling and Indirect Control of Jointed Robots Rolling Atop A Moving Platform
topic Robotics
Differential Geometry
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.22104