| This thesis presents the mechanical design of a rocker-bogie mobility system for the Canadian Space Agency's 30 kg Kapvik micro-rover. The design of the wheel drive system, a planetary differential mechanism, the integration of single-axis force sensors above the wheel hubs, structural analysis of the rocker and bogie links, and the cross-hill and uphill-downhill static stability are outlined.;The development of a net traction estimation algorithm is also presented. The algorithm uses multiple Unscented Kalman Filters to estimate drawbar pulls, resistive torques, wheel normal loads, wheel slips, wheel-terrain contact angles, and several other states in normal operation using on-board rover sensors. Polynomial fits to the estimated data are used to successfully recreate models of drawbar pull and resistive torque as functions of normal load and slip. A two-dimensional multibody dynamic simulation of Kapvik traversing rolling terrain is used to validate the efficacy of the algorithm. |
