Maximum allowable load on wheeled mobile manipulators imposing redundancy constraints

This paper presents a computational technique for determining the maximum allowable load of wheeled mobile manipulators for a desired trajectory. Full load motion of mobile manipulators while carrying a load is an important consideration in their application and motion planning. The number of factors limits the maximum allowable loads, which can be achieved by a mobile manipulator during a given trajectory. Dynamic properties of mobile base and mounted manipulator, their actuator limitations and additional constraints applied to resolve the redundancy are probably the most important factors. To resolve extra degrees of freedom introduced by the base mobility, we proposed additional constraint functions directly in the task space of mobile manipulator. Finally, a numerical example involving a two-link planar manipulator mounted on a differentially driven mobile base, application of the method to determine maximum allowable load is verified. The simulation results clearly demonstrate that the value of maximum allowable load on a given trajectory directly depends on the additional constraint functions which apply to resolve the motion redundancy. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.