Modeling and Control of a Spherical Robot in the CoppeliaSim Simulator.

Journal: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
Published Date:

Abstract

This article presents the development of a model of a spherical robot that rolls to move and has a single point of support with the surface. The model was developed in the CoppeliaSim simulator, which is a versatile tool for implementing this kind of experience. The model was tested under several scenarios and control goals (i.e., position control, path-following and formation control) with control strategies such as reinforcement learning, and Villela and IPC algorithms. The results of these approaches were compared using performance indexes to analyze the performance of the model under different scenarios. The model and examples with different control scenarios are available online.

Authors

  • Guelis Montenegro
    Departamento de Electrotecnia e Informática, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. Federico Santa María 6090, Viña del Mar 2520001, Chile.
  • Roberto Chacón
    Escuela de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Brasil 2147, Valparaíso 2362804, Chile.
  • Ernesto Fabregas
    Departamento de Informática y Automática, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain.
  • Gonzalo Garcia
    Ocean and Mechanical Engineering Department, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road EW 190, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA.
  • Karla Schröder
    Escuela de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Brasil 2147, Valparaíso 2362804, Chile.
  • Alberto Marroquín
    Escuela de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Av. Brasil 2147, Valparaíso 2362804, Chile.
  • Sebastián Dormido-Canto
    Departamento de Informática y Automática, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain.
  • Gonzalo Farias
    Escuela de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile.