Simulation of Closed Kinematic Chains in Realistic Environments Using Gazebo

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Studies in Computational Intelligence book series (SCI, volume 625)

Abstract

Simulation is an integral part of the robo design process; it allows the designer to verify that the mechanical structure, sensors and software work together as intended. It can also serve as a collaboration platform for a team. Gazebo is a particularly attractive simulation platform as the physical behavior of the robot can be simulated in parallel with the ROS software that controls it. A lesser known feature of Gazebo is its ability to simulate closed kinematic chains. This is partly due to a lack of a well-established procedure for creating such simulations. This chapter describes in detail how robots with closed kinematic chains can be simulated in Gazebo. It explains how a robot model created with a computer-aided design (CAD) program such as SolidWorks can be exported to Gazebo so that closed kinematic chains are properly modeled, and how a realistic simulation environment can be generated. We provide detailed step-by-step examples that can be used by the reader to easily create new simulations using Gazebo and SolidWorks. SolidWorks was chosen as the CAD tool because it can partially export kinematic structures. Closed kinematic chains can then be relatively easily added to these exported structures so they can be used in Gazebo.

Keywords

Inertial Measurement Unit Kinematic Chain Robot Model Closed Chain Parent Link 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. 1.
    N. Koenig, A. Howard, Design and use paradigms for gazebo, an open-source multi-robot simulator, in 2004 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Proceedings Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2004), vol. 3 (IEEE, 2004), pp. 2149–2154. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=1389727
  2. 2.
    A. Erdman, G. Sandor, S. Kota, Mechanism Design: Analysis and Synthesis, vol. 1 (Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2001)Google Scholar
  3. 3.
    F. Freudenstein, Design of four-link mechanisms, Ph.D. thesis, Columbia University, New York, United States, 1954. http://search.proquest.com/dissertations/docview/301956609/citation?accountid=14552
  4. 4.
    l0g1x/SpringerROS\(\_\)gazebo2015 GitHub, https://github.com/l0g1x/SpringerROS_Gazebo2015
  5. 5.
    S. Cetinkunt, Mechatronics with Experiments (Wiley, New York, 2015)Google Scholar
  6. 6.
    R. Norton, Design of Machinery: An Introduction to the Synthesis and Analysis of Mechanisms and Machines, McGraw-Hill series in Mechanical Engineering (McGraw-Hill, New York, 2012)Google Scholar
  7. 7.
    C. Radcliffe, Four-bar linkage prosthetic knee mechanisms: kinematics, alignment and prescription criteria. Prosthet. Orthot. Int. 18(3), 159–173 (1994)Google Scholar
  8. 8.
    A. Seeni, B. Schafer, B. Rebele, N. Tolyarenko, Robot mobility concepts for extraterrestrial surface exploration, in Aerospace Conference (IEEE, 2008), pp. 1–14. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=4526237
  9. 9.
    T. Thueer, P. Lamon, A. Krebs, R.Y. Siegwart, CRAB-Exploration rover with advanced obstacle negotiation capabilities, in 9th ESA Workshop on Advanced Space Technologies for Robotics and Automation (ASTRA) (Noordwijk, Netherlands, 2006), http://robotics.estec.esa.int/ASTRA/Astra2006/Papers/ASTRA2006-2.2.1.03.pdf
  10. 10.
    osrf/sdformat—Bitbucket. https://bitbucket.org/osrf/sdformat
  11. 11.
    Gazebo : Tutorial : URDF in Gazebo, http://gazebosim.org/tutorials/?tut=ros_urdf
  12. 12.
    simmechanics\(\_\)to\(\_\)urdf—ROS Wiki, http://wiki.ros.org/simmechanics_to_urdf
  13. 13.
    Modeling for Gazebo A Design Guide for Proper Exporting from Solidworks for Gazebo Simulation, http://blogs.solidworks.com/teacher/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/WPI-Robotics-SolidWorks-to-Gazebo.pdf
  14. 14.
    robot\(\_\)state\(\_\)publisher—ROS Wiki, http://wiki.ros.org/robot_state_publisher
  15. 15.
    osrf / sdformat / Pull request #165: urdf format support in sdf âĂŤ Bitbucket, https://bitbucket.org/osrf/sdformat/pull-request/165/urdf-format-support-in-sdf/diff
  16. 16.
    Gazebo : Tutorial : Gazebo plugins in ROS, http://gazebosim.org/tutorials?tut=ros_gzplugins
  17. 17.
    hector\(\_\)gazebo\(\_\)plugins—ROS Wiki, http://wiki.ros.org/hector_gazebo_plugins?distro=indigo
  18. 18.
    jhu-lcsr/rtt\(\_\)gazebo Â\({\mathring{{\rm {u}}}}\) GitHub, https://github.com/jhu-lcsr/rtt_gazebo
  19. 19.
    IGVC—Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition, http://www.igvc.org/
  20. 20.
    V. Kucherenko, A. Bogatchev, M. Van Winnendael, Chassis concepts for the ExoMars rover, in 8th ESA Workshop on Advanced Space Technologies for Robotics and Automation (ASTRA) (Noordwijk, Netherlands, 2004), http://robotics.estec.esa.int/ASTRA/Astra2004/Papers/astra2004_D-05.pdf
  21. 21.
    C.G.Y. Lee, J. Dalcolmo, S. Klinkner, L. Richter, G. Terrien, A. Krebs, R.Y. Siegwart, L. Waugh, C. Draper, Design and manufacture of a full size breadboard exomars rover chassis, in 6th ESA Workshop on Advanced Space Technologies for Robotics and Automation (ASTRA) (Noordwijk, Netherlands, 2006), http://robotics.estec.esa.int/ASTRA/Astra2006/Papers/ASTRA2006-2.1.1.03.pdf
  22. 22.
    urdf—ROS Wiki, http://wiki.ros.org/urdf
  23. 23.

Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Michael Bailey
    • 1
  • Krystian Gebis
    • 2
  • Miloš Žefran
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Mechanical and Industrial EngineeringUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoChampaignUSA
  2. 2.Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoChampaignUSA

Personalised recommendations