Turning Efficiency Prediction for Skid Steer Robots Using Single Wheel Testing

To date, most field robots use wheels as their means of locomotion (especially true of planetary exploration robots). In many cases these robots are required to travel significant distances, with limited power, and over rough terrain. All of which make wheels a major component contributing to their performance. It is through experimentation and iteration that effective wheel design, for a given rover in a given mission, can be achieved. To do this, the SWEET (Suspension and Wheel Evaluation and Experimentation Testbed) simulates the rover environment using a single wheel methodology. The wheels currently being tested belong to the SR2 skid steer Mars rover designed and built at the University of Oklahoma. Simulating a skid steer turn with SWEET is achieved by varying the spinning rate of the platform under the wheel, which is rotating at a certain rate, and recording the forces incurred. These forces interact in such a way that the relevant mobility properties for a rover can be predicted. This experimentation method allows for cheap and timely iterative single wheel design.