Kinematic analysis for task-based reconfiguration of wheel-arm robots

This paper presents the idea of reconfiguring multiple mobile-manipulator platforms called wheel-arm robots to increase their mobility and functionality. The wheel-arm robot is designed to be a wheel robot with a 4 DOF arm that has ability to manipulate small objects and move on flat terrain. The wheel-arm can also reconfigure itself to be a different type of one-wheel robot. By connecting multiple wheel-arm robots in different configurations, the robot group achieves different functionality. This paper provides kinematic analysis for various types of configurations which explains how the change in configuration affects their functionality including numbers of degrees of freedom for locomotion, manipulation, the ability to climb over obstacles and the maximum force exertion. These kinematic indices can be used in the task-based reconfiguration process which selects the configuration that best matches the given task requirements