Designing Mobile Robots for Indoor Transportation

Creating a mobile robot for indoor transportation is for sure a challenging task, especially when it comes to overcoming hardware and software issues. From choosing the right wheel-motor configuration and sensor set, to figuring out the best way to program the robot, it can be a daunting prospect. This guide will provide a high level overview of the various hardware and software challenges involved in creating a mobile robot, as well as the best solutions for overcoming them. With the right knowledge and preparation, you can create a mobile robot that is ideal for indoor transportation.

Understanding the Hardware Components for a Mobile Robot

To create a mobile robot, you will need to select the right hardware components. There are many components that make up a mobile robot, but in all cases it has:

• The chassis which holds the wheels (or tracks) and drive train of the robot in place and serves as the mount point for all other parts;

• An Onboard Controller, which serves as the brain of the robot, responsible for relaying information between sensors and actuators and the robot control software;

• Sensors - This is the hardware used for navigation and safety, such as a camera, LIDAR, or collision sensors;

• Motors and encoders for driving and steering, typically in a differential drive configuration;

• Extra Actuators - These are the hardware components responsible for interaction with the carried goods.

Selecting the Wheel Configuration

One of the first challenges you will face when creating a mobile robot is selecting the right wheel configuration. Selecting the right wheel configuration will depend on the environment, application, and usage pattern of the robot. We’re excluding tracks here since we focus on indoor robots and tracks are used for muddy environments.

For the wheeled robots, we divide them in two categories: 3-wheel and 4-wheel platforms, although for correctness’ sake, many 3-wheel configurations get a 4th wheel on the opposite side of the steering wheel for stability reasons. We will also leave out the 4-wheel Ackerman steering, which is how every car works but is rarely used for indoor mobile robots.