Integration of Trailer and Tractor Mobile Robot Considering Towing Dynamics

Abstract

The industrial robots are used in different areas, one of these areas is towing trailer’s. This research proposes the use of an omniwheel mobile robot, designed specif‐ ically for towing purposes, to enhance the towing ca‐ pabilities. The study focuses on analyzing, controlling, and testing the dynamics of a trailer under the influence of external towing forces applied by an omniwheel mo‐ bile robot. The study includes dynamical analysis, path planning, tracking control, prototype design, tuning of selected actuators, and simulation results of the pro‐ posed omniwheel tractor robot. The dynamic equations, the path planning algorithm, the path tracking methods, and the PID tuning of actuators are tested in a MATLAB Simulink Simscape environment using the designed 3D models. The simulation results are used to fine‐tune the system parameters and minimize errors. Improved tuning of these parameters leads to better simulation outcomes. The final simulation results show that positional accuracy reaches 4.0 cm RMS precision (peak deviations: 7.6 cm) over a 6.63‐meter course, and speed deviations remain below %4.3. Angular control maintains stability by cap‐ ping errors at 0.117 rad (average: 0.008 rad) and limiting transient overshoot to %17.17 for aggressive maneuvers.