Pushing and Steering Wheelchairs using a Holonomic Mobile Robot with a Single Arm

Abstract

As robots become more human-centric it is envisioned that they will provide greater assistance to the elderly in long term care facilities. With the objective of transporting the elderly within the bounds of long term care facilities, a single arm is designed for a holonomic mobile robot such that the robot can push and steer wheel chairs along predefined trajectories. The associated control problem of pushing and steering wheelchairs is also addressed where it is assumed that the mass of the wheelchair and its friction characteristics are not known. Simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of the design and the control strategy