Analysis of Actuation for a Spherical Robot

In this paper, we present a spherical robot, which is steered and actuated through a counter-weight pendulum attached at a gimbal, a steer motor and a drive motor. The drive motor, linking gimbal and outer shell, generates the driving torque about the lateral rotation axis of the gimbal. The steer motor, located at the longitudinal axis of the gimbal, generates the leaning torque about longitudinal rotation axis. In this paper, we investigate its motion equations and non-holonomic constraints; develop the dynamic model, and present simulation study. The work is significant in understanding and developing this type of planning and controlling motions of nonholonomic systems.