EVALUATING PATH EFFICIENCY AND WHEEL DYNAMICS ACROSS VARYING TURNING RADII IN WHEELED MOBILE ROBOTS

Mobile robots navigating within indoor confined spaces generally use various turning techniques to negotiate obstacles and corners. Although zero radius turns (R=0.0 m) allow saving space, the continuous-arc approach provides different possibilities related to such factors as energy, duration, and wheel slip. This paper proposes an analysis of the performances of a mobile robot based on a simulation carried out using the Python programming language and NumPy package. The study examines a model of a differential-drive robot making a 90-degree turn at different radii (R ∈ {0.0,0.2,0.5,1.0,2.0}m). On the basis of the kinematic analysis along with power and slip estimations, it has been demonstrated that small radii (for example, R=0.2 m) reduce greatly the duration of the manoeuvre (0.78 s) and save space, although they increase significantly the power peaks (6.30 W) and slip peaks (0.0141). In its turn, large radii (R=2.0 m) decrease mechanical slips and power peaks but increase energy consumption (37.92 J) and manoeuvre duration (7.85 s). Composite Efficiency Index indicates that larger arcs lead to increased efficiency per joule, while small turns increase speed efficiency. These simulation findings give us a mathematical basis for determining adaptive turns depending on operating conditions, such as choosing between battery life and time efficiency.