Energy limitations and energetic efficiency of mobile robots

This chapter deals with the analysis of energy consumers, presents a methodology of power calculation and optimization of the power/mass ratio of miniature robots, and provides several examples that demonstrate how to reduce the energy consumption in the robots. These examples together with motion planning provide greater opportunities to achieve better energy efficiency for mobile robots. The chapter also discusses the velocity profile correction for energy optimization approaches in the direction of energy resources. It also considers the energetic model that analyzes energy utilization in mobile robot traverse and estimates maximum range achievable by wheeled and caterpillar mobile robots operating on a single battery discharge. After taking into account different energy utilizations, such as propulsion and steering, the model indicates that the most energy-consuming part of a mobile robot is its robotics functions, such as computing, sensing, and communication.