Abstract:

The kinematics and dynamics of a mechanical system with Mecanum wheels is studied. A Mecanum wheel is a wheel with rollers attached to its circumference. Each roller rotates about an axis that forms an angle of 45° with the plane of the disk. Such a design provides additional kinematic advantages for the Mecanum wheels in comparison with the conventional wheels. Within the framework of non-holonomic mechanics, the equations of motion are derived. Using the kinematic and dynamic equations conclusions about the motion possibilities are formulated. The theoretical results are compared with experimental ones based on a four wheeled Mecanum vehicle (4WMV), made by NEXUS robot. In the future the research results will be used for the design of improved mobile systems for handicapped persons.

Keywords: mecanum Wheel; modelling; kinematics; dynamics; nonholonomic systems.