Alexander A. Kilin

How to control Chaplygin’s sphere using rotors

In the paper we study the control of a balanced dynamically non-symmetric sphere with rotors. The no-slip condition at the point of contact is assumed. The algebraic controllability is shown and the control inputs that steer the ball along a given trajectory on the plane are found. For some simple trajectories explicit tracking algorithms are proposed.

How to Control the Chaplygin Ball Using Rotors. II

In our earlier paper [3] we examined the problem of control of a balanced dynamically nonsymmetric sphere with rotors with no-slip condition at the point of contact. In this paper we investigate the controllability of a ball in the presence of friction. We also study the problem of the existence and stability of singular dissipation-free periodic solutions for a free ball in the presence of friction forces. The issues of constructive realization of the proposed algorithms are discussed.

The problem of drift and recurrence for the rolling Chaplygin ball

We investigate the motion of the point of contact (absolute dynamics) in the integrable problem of the Chaplygin ball rolling on a plane. Although the velocity of the point of contact is a given vector function of variables of the reduced system, it is impossible to apply standard methods of the theory of integrable Hamiltonian systems due to the absence of an appropriate conformally Hamiltonian representation for an unreduced system. For a complete analysis we apply the standard analytical approach, due to Bohl and Weyl, and develop topological methods of investigation. In this way we obtain conditions for boundedness and unboundedness of the trajectories of the contact point.

The Dynamics and Control of a Spherical Robot with an Internal Omniwheel Platform

This paper deals with the problem of a spherical robot propelled by an internal omniwheel platform and rolling without slipping on a plane. The problem of control of spherical robot motion along an arbitrary trajectory is solved within the framework of a kinematic model and a dynamic model. A number of particular cases of motion are identified, and their stability is investigated. An algorithm for constructing elementary maneuvers (gaits) providing the transition from one steady-state motion to another is presented for the dynamic model. A number of experiments have been carried out confirming the adequacy of the proposed kinematic model.

Multiparticle Systems. The Algebra of Integrals and Integrable Cases

Systems of material points interacting both with one another and with an external field are considered in Euclidean space. For the case of arbitrary binary interaction depending solely on the mutual distance between the bodies, new integrals are found, which form a Galilean momentum vector. A corresponding algebra of integrals constituted by the integrals of momentum, angular momentum, and Galilean momentum is presented. Particle systems with a particle-interaction potential homogeneous of degree α = −2 are considered. The most general form of the additional integral of motion, which we term the Jacobi integral, is presented for such systems. A new nonlinear algebra of integrals including the Jacobi integral is found. A systematic description is given to a new reduction procedure and possibilities of applying it to dynamics with the aim of lowering the order of Hamiltonian systems.Some new integrable and superintegrable systems generalizing the classical ones are also described. Certain generalizations of the Lagrangian identity for systems with a particle-interaction potential homogeneous of degree α = −2 are presented. In addition, computational experiments are used to prove the nonintegrability of the Jacobi problem on a plane.

Hamiltonicity and Integrability of the Suslov Problem

The Hamiltonian representation and integrability of the nonholonomic Suslov problem and its generalization suggested by S. A. Chaplygin are considered. This subject is important for understanding the qualitative features of the dynamics of this system, being in particular related to a nontrivial asymptotic behavior (i. e., to a certain scattering problem). A general approach based on studying a hierarchy in the dynamical behavior of nonholonomic systems is developed.

Generalized Chaplygin’s transformation and explicit integration of a system with a spherical support

We discuss explicit integration and bifurcation analysis of two non-holonomic problems. One of them is the Chaplygin’s problem on no-slip rolling of a balanced dynamically non-symmetric ball on a horizontal plane. The other, first posed by Yu. N. Fedorov, deals with the motion of a rigid body in a spherical support. For Chaplygin’s problem we consider in detail the transformation that Chaplygin used to integrate the equations when the constant of areas is zero. We revisit Chaplygin’s approach to clarify the geometry of this very important transformation, because in the original paper the transformation looks a cumbersome collection of highly non-transparent analytic manipulations. Understanding its geometry seriously facilitate the extension of the transformation to the case of a rigid body in a spherical support — the problem where almost no progress has been made since Yu.N. Fedorov posed it in 1988. In this paper we show that extending the transformation to the case of a spherical support allows us to integrate the equations of motion explicitly in terms of quadratures, detect mostly remarkable critical trajectories and study their stability, and perform an exhaustive qualitative analysis of motion. Some of the results may find their application in various technical devices and robot design. We also show that adding a gyrostat with constant angular momentum to the spherical-support system does not affect its integrability.

Dynamics and control of an omniwheel vehicle

A nonholonomic model of the dynamics of an omniwheel vehicle on a plane and a sphere is considered. A derivation of equations is presented and the dynamics of a free system are investigated. An explicit motion control algorithm for the omniwheel vehicle moving along an arbitrary trajectory is obtained.

Spherical robot of combined type: Dynamics and control

This paper is concerned with free and controlled motions of a spherical robot of combined type moving by displacing the center of mass and by changing the internal gyrostatic momentum. Equations of motion for the nonholonomic model are obtained and their first integrals are found. Fixed points of the reduced system are found in the absence of control actions. It is shown that they correspond to the motion of the spherical robot in a straight line and in a circle. A control algorithm for the motion of the spherical robot along an arbitrary trajectory is presented. A set of elementary maneuvers (gaits) is obtained which allow one to transfer the spherical robot from any initial point to any end point.

The dynamics of vortex rings: Leapfrogging, choreographies and the stability problem

We consider the problem of motion of axisymmetric vortex rings in an ideal incompressible fluid. Using the topological approach, we present a method for complete qualitative analysis of the dynamics of a system of two vortex rings. In particular, we completely solve the problem of describing the conditions for the onset of leapfrogging motion of vortex rings. In addition, for the system of two vortex rings we find new families of motions where the relative distances remain finite (we call them pseudo-leapfrogging). We also find solutions for the problem of three vortex rings, which describe both the regular and chaotic leapfrogging motion of vortex rings.