Non-Holonomic Mobile Manipulator Obstacle Avoidance with Adaptive Prioritization

This paper presents an obstacle avoidance strategy for mobile manipulators consisting of a robotic arm and a base with a non-holonomic differential wheel system. The algorithm makes it possible to avoid obstacles in a dynamic environment, without planning the path a priori. A series of examples are proposed in simulation using Matlab and analyzed to show how the algorithm works if the obstacle interferes with the manipulator or the base. In addition, the possibility of prioritizing the movement of certain parts of the system using the weighted pseudo-inverse matrix is introduced. In this way, it is possible to give movement priority to the base if it is necessary to move the robot over long distances while keeping the manipulator as still as possible. The use of null space to keep the end-effector stationary while it avoids obstacles is also explored, exploiting the system’s redundancy and allowing the rest of the kinematic chain and the mobile base to move accordingly. Finally, current standards are analyzed and a solution is shown that allows the robot to vary its behavior to avoid obstacles depending on the distance to the target point.