Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!uunet!ukma!wupost!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!nagle
From: nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle)
Subject: Re: Modeling Slip, Mobile Robotics, Kinematics, Simulation
Message-ID: <1992Nov17.035803.4304@netcom.com>
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
References: <1e8eknINNdn6@clover.csv.warwick.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 03:58:03 GMT
Lines: 24

esrbu@csv.warwick.ac.uk (Mr I M Hunter) writes:
>So, no one's performed a simulation of a mobile robot at kinematics level
>then? I think not. I have a number of papers regarding kinematic modeling
>of wheeled robots, however, I would dearly enjoy discussions concerned with
>modeling possible errors:

>        Has anyone attempted to model the effects of slip: What happens to
>an omnidirectional robot when wheels are misaligned or differ in size? 

      The animation community leads in this area.  See Zeltzer's paper in
"Making them Move", (Morgan Kauffman, 1991), and especially watch
the car sequence in the accompanying video.

      Vehicle dynamics is rather well understood.  The basic work
was done about two decades ago at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory
(now CALSPAN).  There's a great story about how the person who did
that work, annoyed by people questioning whether he could really
predict vehicle dynamics in extreme situations, teamed up with an
auto thrill show to design a never-before-done stunt, a 360 degree 
roll in the air.  Worked the first time.  Appeared in a James Bond
movie.

					John Nagle
					John Nagle
