Tire Models for Studies of Wheeled Mobile Robot Dynamics on Rigid Grounds – A Quantitative Analysis for Longitudinal Motion

The work is concerned with quantitative analysis of tire models from the point of view of their use in studies of dynamics of lightweight wheeled mobile robots. The analyses are carried out for the four-wheeled skid-steered mobile robot dedicated for investigations of robot kinematics and dynamics. Robot kinematics and definitions of parameters describing wheel slips are discussed. Two tire models selected for the quantitative analysis are presented. The model of robot dynamics used during studies which allows simulation of longitudinal motion enhanced with drive unit model is described. Within work, simulation investigations of the full vehicle with successively connected different tire models are conducted. Results of simulations are benchmarked against data obtained during experiments with the real mobile robot.