José Lima

Abstract
Simulators have been increasingly used on development and tests on several areas. They allow to speed up the development without damage and no extra costs. On realistic simulators, where kinematics play an important role, the modelling process should be imported for each component to be accurately simulated. Some robots are not yet modelled, as for example the Monera. This paper presents a model of a small vibration robot (Monera) that is acquired in a developed test-bed. A localisation ground truth is used to acquire the position of the Monera with actuating it. Linear and angular speeds acquired from real experiments allow to validate the proposed methodology. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract
This survey analyses and compares ten different robots capable of hybrid locomotion in an attempt to elucidate the readers on several aspects of importance when designing and implementing a legged-wheeled vehicle. With this purpose in mind, the robots are compared based on their goals, kinematic configurations, joint specifications and overall performance. In this text, their variety and versatility is presented, justifying their use in real-world scenarios.

Abstract
Navigation is one of the most important tasks for a mobile robot and the localisation is one of its main requirements. There are several types of localisation solutions such as LiDAR, Radio-frequency and acoustic among others. The well-known line follower has been a solution used for a long time ago and still remains its application, especially in competitions for young researchers that should be captivated to the scientific and technological areas. This paper describes two methodologies to estimate the position of a robot placed on a gradient line and compares them. The Least Squares and the Machine Learning methods are used and the results applied to a real robot allow to validate the proposed approach. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract

Abstract
In order to study the behavior and performance of a robot, building its simulation model is crucial. Realistic simulation tools using physics engines enable faster, more accurate and realistic testing conditions, without depending on the real vehicle. By combining legged and wheeled locomotion, hybrid vehicles are specially useful for operating in different types of terrains, both indoors and outdoors. They present increased mobility, versatility and adaptability, as well as easier maneuverability, when compared to vehicles using only one of the mechanisms. This paper presents the realistic simulation through the SimTwo simulator software of a hybrid legged-wheeled robot. It has four 3-DOF (degrees of freedom) legs combining rigid and non-rigid joints and has been fully designed, tested and validated in the simulated environment with incorporated dynamics. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.