Publications in the last 5 years

This paper considers a symmetric mathematical model of a wheeled robot with a trailer with various types of coupling between the robot and the trailer. An analysis is made of the corresponding sub-Riemannian problem in the abnormal case of Pontryagin's maximum principle. It is proved that, for fixed coupling parameters and the initial position of the robot with the trailer there exist two symmetric abnormal extremals. During motion along these trajectories the robot and the trailer follow normal extreme trajectories for the sub-Riemannian problem on the group of the plane's motions in such a way that the point of coupling always traces out an inflexional elastica or a straight line.

This paper treats the problem of a spherical robot with an axisymmetric pendulum drive rolling without slipping on a vibrating plane. The main purpose of the paper is to investigate the stabilization of the upper vertical rotations of the pendulum using feedback (additional control action). For the chosen type of feedback, regions of asymptotic stability of the upper vertical rotations of the pendulum are constructed and possible bifurcations are analyzed. Special attention is also given to the question of the stability of periodic solutions arising as the vertical rotations lose stability.

The problem of the rolling of a disk on a plane is considered under the assumption that there is no slipping in the direction parallel to the horizontal diameter of the disk and that the center of mass does not move in the horizontal direction. This problem is reduced to investigating a system of three first-order differential equations. It is shown that the reduced system is reversible relative to involution of codimension one and admits a two-parameter family of fixed points. The linear stability of these fixed points is analyzed. Using numerical simulation, the nonintegrability of the problem is shown. It is proved that the reduced system admits, even in the nonintegrable case, a two-parameter family of periodic solutions. A number of dynamical effects due to the existence of involution of codimension one and to the degeneracy of the fixed points of the reduced system are found.

In this paper we investigate a nonholonomic system with parametric excitation, a Roller Racer with variable gyrostatic momentum. We examine in detail the problem of the existence of regimes with unbounded growth of energy (nonconservative Fermi acceleration). We find a criterion for the existence of trajectories for which one of the velocity components increases withound bound and has asymptotics $t^{1/3}$. In addition, we show that the problem under consideration reduces to analysis of a three-dimensional Poincaré map. This map exhibits both regular attractors (a fixed point, a limit cycle and a torus) and strange attractors.

The article is devoted to the motion analysis of a highly maneuverable mobile robot with four omniwheels, taking into account the conditions for the appearance of wheel detachment from the surface, and the occurrence of wheel slipping. Within the motion analysis the task of determination support reactions for a mobile robot is considered. To solve this task, the design of a mobile robot is presented in the form of the frame with rods. To disclosure the static indeterminacy of the considered system the forces method is used. Dependences of support reactions from the position of the center mass are obtained. The feature of the considered system is that the obtained dependencies of the support reactions are nonlinear. Based on the obtained dependences of the support reactions, the influence of the position of the center of mass of a mobile robot with four wheels on the occurrence of detachment and slipping of wheels of a mobile robot was considered. Investigation was carried out within the framework of the dry friction model, according to which module of the friction force proportionally depends on the support reaction acting on the wheel from the side of the motion surface. Simulation was carried out, as a result of which the conditions for the position of the center of mass of a mobile robot were determined, in which wheels of a mobile robot do not detach from the motion surface, and there is no wheel slipping.

This paper presents the design of an aquatic robot actuated by one internal rotor. The robot body has a cylindrical form with a base in the form of a symmetric airfoil with a sharp edge. For this object, equations of motion are presented in the form of Kirchhoff equations for rigid body motion in an ideal fluid, which are supplemented with viscous resistance terms. A prototype of the aquatic robot with an internal rotor is developed. Using this prototype, experimental investigations of motion in a fluid are carried out.

This paper addresses the problem of a sphere with axisymmetric mass distribution rolling on a horizontal plane. It is assumed that there is no slipping of the sphere as it rolls in the direction of the projection of the symmetry axis onto the supporting plane. It is also assumed that, in the direction perpendicular to the above-mentioned one, the sphere can slip relative to the plane. Examples of realization of the above-mentioned nonholonomic constraint are given. Equations of motion are obtained and their first integrals are found. It is shown that the system under consideration admits a redundant set of first integrals, which makes it possible to perform reduction to a system with one degree of freedom.

In this paper, we study the plane-parallel motion of a circular foil interacting with two vortex pairs in an infinite volume of an ideal fluid. We assumed that the circulation of the velocity of the fluid around the foil was zero. We showed that the equations of motion possess an invariant submanifold such that the foil performed translational motion and the vortices were symmetric relative to the foil’s direction of motion. A qualitative analysis of the motion on this invariant submanifold was made. New relative equilibria were found, a bifurcation diagram was constructed, and a stability analysis is given. In addition, trajectories generalizing Helmholtz leapfrogging were found where the vortices passed alternately through each other, while remaining at a finite distance from the foil.

In this paper, we address the problem of an ellipsoid with axisymmetric mass distribution rolling on a horizontal absolutely rough plane under the assumption that the supporting plane performs periodic vertical oscillations. In the general case, the problem reduces to a system with one and a half degrees of freedom. In this paper, instead of considering exact equations, we use a vibrational potential that describes approximately the dynamics of a rigid body on a vibrating plane. Since the vibrational potential is invariant under rotation about the vertical, the resulting problem with the additional potential is integrable. For this problem, we analyze the influence of vibrations on the linear stability of vertical rotations of the ellipsoid.

We investigate the dynamics of particles in a Kerr metric which describes the gravitational field in a neighborhood of a rotating black hole. After elimination of cyclic coordinates this problem reduces to investigating a Hamiltonian system with 2 degrees of freedom. This system possesses an additional Carter integral quadratic in momenta and hence is integrable by the Liouville-Arnold theorem. A bifurcation diagram is constructed and a classification of the types of trajectories of the system is carried out according to the values of first integrals. In particular, it is shown that there are seven different regions of values of first integrals which differ in the topological type of the integral submanifold. Pro-and-retrograde trajectories of particles are found.

A model governing the motion of an aquatic robot with a shell in the form of a symmetrical airfoil NACA0040 is considered. The motion is controlled by periodic oscillations of the rotor. It is numerically shown that for physically admissible values of the control parameters in the phase space of the system, there exists only one limit cycle. The limit cycle that occurs under symmetric control corresponds to the motion of the robot near a straight line. In the case of asymmetric controls, the robot moves near a circle. An algorithm for controlling the course of the robot motion is proposed. This algorithm uses determined limit cycles and transient processes between them.

The dynamics of a system governing the controlled motion of an unbalanced circular foil in the presence of point vortices is considered. The foil motion is controlled by periodically changing the position of the center of mass, the gyrostatic momentum, and the moment of inertia of the system. A derivation of the equations of motion based on Sedov's approach is proposed, the equations of motion are presented in the Hamiltonian form. A periodic perturbation of the known integrable case is considered.

This paper addresses the problem of a roller-racer rolling on an oscillating plane. Equations of motion of the roller-racer in the form of a system of four nonautonomous differential equations are obtained. Two families of particular solutions are found which correspond to rectilinear motions of the roller-racer along and perpendicular to the plane's oscillations. Numerical estimates are given for the multipliers of solutions corresponding to the motion of the robot along the oscillations. Also, a special case is presented in which it is possible to obtain analytic expressions of the multipliers. In this case, it is shown that the motion along oscillations of a “folded” roller-racer is linearly orbitally stable as it moves with its joint ahead, and that all other motions are unstable. It is shown that, in a linear approximation, the family corresponding to the motion of the robot is perpendicular to the plane's oscillations, that is, it is unstable.

This paper is concerned with the study of permanent rotations of a rigid body rolling without slipping on a horizontal plane (i. e., the velocity of the point of contact of the ellipsoid with the plane is zero). By permanent rotations we will mean motions of a rigid body on a horizontal plane such that the angular velocity of the body remains constant and the point of contact does not change its position. A more detailed analysis is made of permanent rotations of an omnirotational ellipsoid whose characteristic feature is the possibility of permanent rotations about any point of its surface.

In this paper, we consider the dynamics of two interacting point vortex rings in a Bose – Einstein condensate. The existence of an invariant manifold corresponding to vortex rings is proved. Equations of motion on this invariant manifold are obtained for an arbitrary number of rings from an arbitrary number of vortices. A detailed analysis is made of the case of two vortex rings each of which consists of two point vortices where all vortices have same topological charge. For this case, partial solutions are found and a complete bifurcation analysis is carried out. It is shown that, depending on the parameters of the Bose –Einstein condensate, there are three different types of bifurcation diagrams. For each type, typical phase portraits are presented.

Describing the phenomena of the surrounding world is an interesting task that has long attracted the attention of scientists. However, even in seemingly simple phenomena, complex dynamics can be revealed. In particular, leaves on the surface of various bodies of water exhibit complex behavior. This paper addresses an idealized description of the mentioned phenomenon. Namely, the problem of the plane-parallel motion of an unbalanced circular disk moving in a stream of simple structure created by a point source (sink) is considered. Note that using point sources, it is possible to approximately simulate the work of skimmers used for cleaning swimming pools. Equations of coupled motion of the unbalanced circular disk and the point source are derived. It is shown that in the case of a fixed-position source of constant intensity the equations of motion of the disk are Hamiltonian. In addition, in the case of a balanced circular disk the equations of motion are integrable. A bifurcation analysis of the integrable case is carried out. Using a scattering map, it is shown that the equations of motion of the unbalanced disk are nonintegrable. The nonintegrability found here can explain the complex motion of leaves in surface streams of bodies of water.

This paper discusses conditions for the existence of polynomial (in velocities)
first integrals of the equations of motion of mechanical systems in a nonpotential force field
(circulatory systems). These integrals are assumed to be single-valued smooth functions on
the phase space of the system (on the space of the tangent bundle of a smooth configuration
manifold). It is shown that, if the genus of the closed configuration manifold of such a system
with two degrees of freedom is greater than unity, then the equations of motion admit no
nonconstant single-valued polynomial integrals. Examples are given of circulatory systems with
configuration space in the form of a sphere and a torus which have nontrivial polynomial laws
of conservation. Some unsolved problems involved in these phenomena are discussed.

This paper describes the existing designs of spherical robots and reviews studies devoted to investigating their dynamics and to developing algorithms for controlling them. An analysis is also made of the key features and the historical aspects of the development of their designs, in particular, taking into account various areas of application.

This paper is concerned with the controlled motion of a three-link wheeled snake robot propelled by changing the angles between the central and lateral links. The limits on the applicability of the nonholonomic model for the problem of interest are revealed. It is shown that the system under consideration is completely controllable according to the Rashevsky – Chow theorem. Possible types of motion of the system under periodic snake-like controls are presented using Fourier expansions. The relation of the form of the trajectory in the space of controls to the type of motion involved is found. It is shown that, if the trajectory in the space of controls is centrally symmetric, the robot moves with nonzero constant average velocity in some direction.

In this paper we present a method for constructing inhomogeneous velocity fields of an incompressible fluid using expansions in terms of eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator whose weight coefficients are determined from the problem of minimizing the integral of the squared divergence. A number of examples of constructing the velocity fields of plane-parallel and axisymmetric flows are considered. It is shown that the problem of minimizing the integral value of divergence is incorrect and requires regularization. In particular, we apply Tikhonov’s regularization method. The method proposed in this paper can be used to generate different initial conditions in investigating the nonuniqueness of the solution to the Navier – Stokes equations.

This paper is concerned with the motion of an aquatic robot whose body has the form of a sharp-edged foil. The robot is propelled by rotating the internal rotor without shell deformation. The motion of the robot is described by a finite-dimensional mathematical model derived from physical considerations. This model takes into account the effect of added masses and viscous friction. The parameters of the model are calculated from comparison of experimental data and numerical solution to the equations of rigid body motion and the Navier–Stokes equations. The proposed mathematical model is used to define controls implementing straight-line motion, motion in a circle, and motion along a complex trajectory. Experiments for estimation of the efficiency of the model have been conducted.

The paper presents the model of rolling resistance and the application of this model for the control of a pendulum actuated spherical robot on a horizontal plane. Control actions are derived in the form of maneuvers (gaits) which ensure the transition between two steady motions of the system. The experiments confirming the applicability of the model of viscous rolling friction and a method for determining coefficients of rolling resistance from experimental data are presented.

In this paper we presents the results of experimental investigations and simulations of the motion of the Roller Racer. We assume that the angle $\varphi(t)$ between the platforms is a prescribed function of time and that the no-slip condition (nonholonomic constraint) and viscous friction force act at the points of contact of the wheels. The results of theoretical and experimental investigations are compared for various values of the parameters of the control action and design parameters of mobile robot.

We investigate the model of controlledmotion of a pendulum-actuated spherical robot on a horizontal plane, taking rolling resistance into account. We derive equations of motion and obtain partial steady-state solutions.We present algorithms for designing elementary maneuvers (gaits) which ensure transition between two steady motions of the system. These gaits correspond to the acceleration along a straight line and to the turn through a given angle.

This paper investigates the controlled motion of a spherical robot on a plane performing horizontal periodic oscillations. The spherical robot is modeled by a balanced dynamically asymmetric sphere (the Chaplygin sphere) with three noncoplanar gyrostats placed inside it. The motion of the sphere is controlled by the controlled rotation of the internal gyrostats. The paper addresses two control problems concerning the construction of controls which generate motion along a trajectory given either on a moving plane or in a fixed frame of reference. It is shown that, using a control torque constant in the fixed frame of reference, the general problem can be reduced to the problem of control on the zero level set of the angular momentum integral. It is proved that, on the zero level set of the angular momentum integral, the system under consideration is completely controllable according to the Rashevsky – Chow theorem. Control algorithms for the motion of the sphere along an arbitrary prescribed trajectory are constructed. Examples are given of controls for the sphere rolling in a straight line in an arbitrary direction and in a circle, and for the sphere turning so that the position of the center of mass, both relative to the moving plane and relative to the fixed frame of reference, remains unchanged.

This paper investigates the dynamics of a point vortex and a balanced circular foil in an ideal fluid. An explicit reduction to quadratures is performed. A bifurcation diagram is constructed and a classification of the types of integral manifolds is carried out. The stability of critical solutions is studied in which the foil and the vortex move in a circle or in a straight line.

In this paper we investigate the motion of a Chaplygin sphere rolling without slipping on a plane performing horizontal periodic oscillations. We show that in the system under consideration the projections of the angular momentum onto the axes of the fixed coordinate system remain unchanged. The investigation of the reduced system on a fixed level set of first integrals reduces to analyzing a three-dimensional period advance map on $SO(3)$. The analysis of this map suggests that in the general case the problem considered is nonintegrable. We find partial solutions to the system which are a generalization of permanent rotations and correspond to nonuniform rotations about a body- and space-fixed axis. We also find a particular integrable case which, after time is rescaled, reduces to the classical Chaplygin sphere rolling problem on the zero level set of the area integral.

This paper addresses the problem of conditions for the existence of conservation laws (first integrals) of circulatory systems which are quadratic in velocities (momenta), when the external forces are nonpotential. Under some conditions the equations of motion are reduced to Hamiltonian form with some symplectic structure and the role of the Hamiltonian is played by a quadratic integral. In some cases the equations are reduced to a conformally Hamiltonian rather than Hamiltonian form. The existence of a quadratic integral and its properties allow conclusions to be drawn on the stability of equilibrium positions of circulatory systems.

In this paper we present a study of the dynamics of a mobile robot with omnidirectional wheels taking into account the reaction forces acting from the plane. The dynamical equations are obtained in the form of Newton – Euler equations. In the course of the study, we formulate structural restrictions on the position and orientation of the omnidirectional wheels and their rollers taking into account the possibility of implementing the omnidirectional motion. We obtain the dependence of reaction forces acting on the wheel from the supporting surface on the parameters defining the trajectory of motion: linear and angular velocities and accelerations, and the curvature of the trajectory of motion. A striking feature of the system considered is that the results obtained can be formulated in terms of elementary geometry.

This paper addresses the problem of balancing an inverted pendulum on an omnidirectional platform in a three-dimensional setting. Equations of motion of the platform – pendulum system in quasi-velocities are constructed. To solve the problem of balancing the pendulum by controlling the motion of the platform, a hybrid genetic algorithm is used. The behavior of the system is investigated under different initial conditions taking into account a necessary stop of the platform or the need for continuation of the motion at the end point of the trajectory. It is shown that the solution of the problem in a two-dimensional setting is a particular case of three-dimensional balancing.

This paper is concerned with the analysis of the influence of the friction model on the existence of additional integrals of motion in a system describing the sliding of a spherical top on a plane. We consider a model in which the friction is described not only by the force applied at the point of contact, but also by an additional friction torque. It is shown that, depending on the chosen friction model, the system admits various first integrals. In particular, we give examples of friction models in which either the Jellett integral or the Lagrange integral or the area integral is preserved.

In this paper, we analyze the effect which the choice of a frictionmodel has on tippe top inversion in the case where the resulting action of all dissipative forces is described not only by the force applied at the contact point, but also by the additional rolling resistance torque. We show that the possibility or impossibility of tippe top inversion depends on the existence of specific integrals of the motion of the system. In this paper, we consider an example of the law of rolling resistance by which the area integral is preserved in the system.We examine in detail the case where the action of all dissipative forces reduces to the horizontal rolling resistance torque. This model describes fast rotations of the top between two horizontal smooth planes. For this case, we find permanent rotations of the system and analyze their linear stability. The stability analysis suggests that no tippe top inversion is possible under fast rotations between two planes.

This paper investigates nonholonomic systems (the Chaplygin sleigh and the Suslov system) with periodically varying mass distribution. In these examples, the behavior of velocities is described by a system of the form $$ \frac{dv}{d\tau}=f_2(\tau)u^2+f_1(\tau)u+f_0(\tau), \,\, \frac{du}{d\tau}=-uv+g(\tau), $$ where the coefficients are periodic functions of time $\tau$ with the same period. A detailed analysis is made of the problem of the existence of modes of motion for which the system speeds up indefinitely (an analog of Fermi’s acceleration). It is proved that, depending on the choice of coefficients, variable $v$ has the asymptotics $t^{1/k}, \,\, k=1,2,3$. In addition, we show regions of the phase space for which the system, when the trajectories are started from them, is observed to speed up. The proof uses normal forms and averaging in a slightly unusual form since unusual form averaging is performed over a variable that is not fast.
This paper continues a series of studies [1–5] of the dynamics of nonholonomic systems with vary- ing mass distribution due to the prescribed pe- riodic motion of some structural components (ro- tor, point masses etc.). Depending on the choice of the law of variation of mass distribution, such systems generally exhibit a large variety of be- havior, both regular and chaotic. In addition, it turns out that nonholonomic systems are one of the simplest mathematical models of mechan- ical systems exhibiting a phenomenon known as unbounded speedup, which is due to redistribu- tion of internal masses. In this paper, for a cer- tain class of nonholonomic systems (including the Chaplygin sleigh and the Suslov system) we find a criterion which must be satisfied by the periodic variation of mass distribution for the existence of speeding-up trajectories.

This paper addresses the problem of the motion of an unbalanced circular foil and point vortices in an ideal incompressible fluid. Using Bernoulli’s theorem for unsteady potential flow, the force due to the pressure from the fluid on the foil is obtained for an arbitrary vortex motion. A detailed analysis is made of the case of free vortex motion in which a Hamiltonian reduction by symmetries is performed. For the resulting system, relative equilibria corresponding to the motion of an unbalanced foil and a vortex in a circle or in a straight line are found and their stability is investigated. New examples of stationary configurations of a vortex and a foil are given. Using a Poincare map, it is also shown that in the general case of an unbalanced circular foil the reduced system exhibits chaotic trajectories.

The problem of stability of rotating regular vortex $N$-gons (Thomson’s configurations) in a Bose – Einstein condensate in a harmonic trap is considered. A reduction procedure on the level set of the momentum integral is proposed. The dependence of the velocity of rotation $\omega$ of vortex polygon about the center of the trap is obtained as a function of the number of vortices $N$ and the radius of the configuration, $R$. The analysis of the orbital linear and nonlinear stability of the motion of such configurations is carried out. For $N \leqslant 6$, regions of orbital stability of configurations in the parameter space are constructed. It is shown that vortex $N$-gons for $N > 6$ are unstable for any parameters of the system. In this paper, we study the stability of rotating regular vortex $N$-gons in a Bose – Einstein condensate in a harmonic trap. The analysis of the orbital linear and nonlinear stability of motion is carried out. The dependence of the stability of regular vortex $N$-gons on the number of vortices $N$ and the parameters of the system is given.

This paper investigates the rolling motion of a spherical top with an axisymmetric mass distribution on a smooth horizontal plane performing periodic vertical oscillations. For the system under consideration, equations of motion and conservation laws are obtained. It is shown that the system admits two equilibrium points corresponding to uniform rotations of the top about the vertical symmetry axis. The equilibrium point is stable when the center of mass is located below the geometric center, and is unstable when the center of mass is located above it. The equations of motion are reduced to a system with one and a half degrees of freedom. The reduced system is represented as a small perturbation of the problem of the motion of the Lagrange top. Using Melnikov’s method, it is shown that the stable and unstable branches of the separatrix intersect transversally with each other. This suggests that the problem is nonintegrable. Results of computer simulation of the top dynamics near the unstable equilibrium point are presented.

In this paper, the object of study is a highly maneuverable mobile robot with omni wheels. The paper presents the investigation of the dynamics of omni wheels as part of a mobile platform. The design of a mobile platform with omni wheels is analyzed, taking into account the dynamics of an individual wheel as a part of a mobile platform. The equations of dynamics are presented in the form of Lagrange equations of the second kind with undetermined multipliers. As a result, several conditions of design constraints were identified, under which the omnidirectional motion of the mobile platform is impossible.

This paper describes the design of the underwater robot which is moved by rotating the internal rotor. The design of the robot is described. A finite-dimensional mathematical model describing the robot’s motion is presented. The study of the derived equations of motion is carried out, the influence of the parameters of the control action on the mode of the robot motion is considered.

This paper considers the application of the harmonic balance method for calculating the boundaries of the instability region of the Liouville problem. Explicit equations for the boundaries of the first four instability regions are given.

The work investigates the experimental problem of reparking trailer for a wheeled robot with a trailer. The geometric model with kinematic constraints leads to the sub-Riemannian problem. We solve this problem via nilpotent approximation. The corresponding solution is close to optimal and locally minimizes the total kinetic energy of the driving wheels. A full-scale model is designed in a way to avoid phase constraints usually appearing in trailer systems. We perform 64 different experiments with reparking trailer and obtain the satisfactory accuracy: for one maneuver we repark the trailer with maximum angle error equal to 4 degrees.

Equations governing the motion of vortex $N$-gons in a Bose – Einstein condensate enclosed in a harmonic trap are obtained. It is shown that these equations have two first integrals: the integral of energy and the integral of the moment. The reduction on the fixed level set of the integral of moment is carried out. The equilibrium positions of the system considered are found. Phase portraits of the system of two vortex $N$-gons, each of which consists of two vortices, are constructed.

We consider a nonholonomic system that describes the rolling without slipping of a spherical shell inside which a frame rotates with constant angular velocity (this system is one of the possible generalizations of the problem of the rolling of a Chaplygin sphere). After a suitable scale transformation of the radius of the shell or the mass of the system the equations of motion can be represented as a perturbation of the integrable Euler case in rigid body dynamics. Using this representation, we explicitly calculate a Melnikov integral, which contains an isolated zero under some restrictions on the system parameters. Thereby we prove the absence of an additional integral in this system and the existence of chaotic trajectories. We conclude by presenting numerical experiments that illustrate the system dynamics depending on the behavior of the Melnikov function.

We consider the problem of the stability of rotating regular vortex $N$-gons (Thomson configurations) in a Bose-Einstein condensate in a harmonic trap. The dependence of the rotation velocity $\omega$ of the Thomson configuration around the center of the trap is obtained as a function of the number of vortices $N$ and the radius of the configuration $R$. The analysis of the stability of motion of such configurations in the linear approximation is carried out. For $N \leqslant 6$, regions of orbital stability of configurations in the parameter space are constructed. It is shown that vortex N-gons for $N > 6$ are unstable for any parameters of the system.

We consider a propellerless robot that moves on the surface of a fluid by rotating of the internal rotor. The robot shell has a symmetric shape of NACA 0040 airfoil. The equations of motion are written in the form of classical Kirchhoff equations with terms describing the viscous friction. The control action based on the derived model is proposed. The influences of various model parameters on the robot’s trajectory have been studied.

This paper investigates the rolling motion of a spherical top with an axisymmetric mass distribution on a smooth horizontal plane performing periodic vertical oscillations. For the system under consideration, equations of motion and conservation laws are obtained. It is shown that the system admits two equilibrium points corresponding to uniform rotations of the top about the vertical symmetry axis. The equilibrium point is stable when the center of mass is located below the geometric center, and is unstable when the center of mass is located above it. The equations of motion are reduced to a system with one and a half degrees of freedom. The reduced system is represented as a small perturbation of the problem of the Lagrange top motion. Using Melnikov’s method, it is shown that the stable and unstable branches of the separatrix intersect transversally with each other. This suggests that the problem is nonintegrable. Results of computer simulation of the top dynamics near the unstable equilibrium point are presented.

In this paper we obtain equations of motion for a vortex pair and a circular foil with parametric excitation due to the periodic motion of a material point. Undoubtedly, such problems are, on the one hand, model problems and cannot be used for an exact quantitative description of real trajectories of the system. On the other hand, in many cases such 2D models provide a sufficiently accurate qualitative picture of the dynamics and, due to their simplicity, an estimate of the influence of different parameters. We describe relative equilibria that generalize F¨oppl solutions and collinear configurations when the material point does not move. We show that a stochastic layer forms in the neighborhood of relative equilibria in the case of periodic motion of the foil’s center of mass.

The motion of a circular cylinder in an ideal fluid in the field of a fixed source is considered. It is shown that, when the source has constant strength, the system possesses a momentum integral and an energy integral. Conditions are found under which the equations of motion reduced to the level set of the momentum integral admit an unstable fixed point. This fixed point corresponds to circular motion of the cylinder about the source. A feedback is constructed which ensures stabilization of the above-mentioned fixed point by changing the strength of the source.

This paper addresses the problem of a spherical robot having an axisymmetric pendulum drive and rolling without slipping on a vibrating plane. It is shown that this system admits partial solutions (steady rotations) for which the pendulum rotates about its vertical symmetry axis. Special attention is given to problems of stability and stabilization of these solutions. An analysis of the constraint reaction is performed, and parameter regions are identified in which a stabilization of the spherical robot is possible without it losing contact with the plane. It is shown that the partial solutions can be stabilized by varying the angular velocity of rotation of the pendulum about its symmetry axis, and that the rotation of the pendulum is a necessary condition for stabilization without the robot losing contact with the plane.

The motion of a spherical robot with periodically changing moments of inertia, internal rotors and a displaced center of mass is considered. It is shown that, under some restrictions on the displacement of the center of mass, the system of interest features chaotic dynamics due to separatrix splitting. A stability analysis is made of the upper equilibrium point of the ball and of the periodic solution arising in its neighborhood, in the case of periodic rotation of the rotors. It is shown that the lower equilibrium point can become unstable in the case of fixed rotors and periodically changing moments of inertia.

The properties of the Gibbs ensembles of Hamiltonian systems describing the motion along geodesics on a compact configuration manifold are discussed.We introduce weakly ergodic systems for which the time average of functions on the configuration space is constant almost everywhere. Usual ergodic systems are, of course, weakly ergodic, but the converse is not true. A range of questions concerning the equalization of the density and the temperature of a Gibbs ensemble as time increases indefinitely are considered. In addition, the weak ergodicity of a billiard in a rectangular parallelepiped with a partition wall is established.

This paper examines the motion of a balanced spherical robot under the action of periodically changing moments of inertia and gyrostatic momentum. The system of equations of motion is constructed using the model of the rolling of a rubber body (without slipping and twisting) and is nonconservative. It is shown that in the absence of gyrostatic momentum the equations of motion admit three invariant submanifolds corresponding to plane-parallel motion of the sphere with rotation about the minor, middle and major axes of inertia. The abovementioned motions are quasi-periodic, and for the numerical estimate of their stability charts of the largest Lyapunov exponent and charts of stability are plotted versus the frequency and amplitude of the moments of inertia. It is shown that rotations about the minor and major axes of inertia can become unstable at sufficiently small amplitudes of the moments of inertia. In this case, the so-called “Arnol’d tongues” arise in the stability chart. Stabilization of the middle unstable axis of inertia turns out to be possible at sufficiently large amplitudes of the moments of inertia, when the middle axis of inertia becomes the minor axis for a part of a period. It is shown that the nonconservativeness of the system manifests itself in the occurrence of limit cycles, attracting tori and strange attractors in phase space. Numerical calculations show that strange attractors may arise through a cascade of period-doubling bifurcations or after a finite number of torus-doubling bifurcations.

This paper is concerned with the problem of a dynamically symmetric heavy ball rolling without slipping on a cone which rotates uniformly about its symmetry axis. The equations of motion of the system are obtained, partial periodic solutions are found, and their stability is analyzed.

This paper considers the plane-parallel motion of an elliptic foil in a fluid with a nonzero constant circulation under the action of external periodic forces and torque. The existence of the first integral is shown for the case in which there is no external torque and an external force acts along one of the principal axes of the foil. It is shown that, in the general case, in the absence of friction, an extensive stochastic layer is observed for the period advance map. When dissipation is added to the system, strange attractors can arise from the stochastic layer.

The paper is focused to design, simulation and modeling of the compact compliant structures widely used in construction of robotic devices. As the illustrative example it is proposed mechanism for reduction of motion, which enables to improve the accuracy of the positioning system. The physical model is fabricated by 3D printing technology. Its proposed performance characteristics are verified by measurement on the experimental test bed by using laser distance sensors and image sensing/processing technology.

This article is concerned with developing an intelligent system for the control of a wheeled robot. An algorithm for training an artificial neural network for path planning is proposed. The trajectory ensures steering optimal motion from the current position of the mobile robot to a prescribed position taking its orientation into account. The proposed control system consists of two artificial neural networks. One of them serves to specify the position and the size of the obstacle, and the other forms a continuous trajectory to reach it, taking into account the information received, the coordinates, and the orientation at the point of destination. The neural network is trained on the basis of samples obtained by modeling the equations of motion of the wheeled robot which ensure its motion along trajectories in the form of Euler’s elastica.

This paper is concerned with the study of a nonholonomic system with parametric excitation, the Suslov problem with variable gyrostatic momentum. A detailed analysis is made of the problem of the existence of regimes with unbounded growth of energy (an analog of Fermi’s acceleration). The existence of trajectories is shown for which the angular velocity of the rigid body increases indefinitely and has the asymptotics $t^{\frac{1}{2}}$

In this paper, we investigate the motion of a homogeneous heavy ball rolling without slipping on the surface of a rotating cylinder in two settings: a setting without dissipation and a setting with rolling friction torque which is proportional to the angular velocity of the ball. In both caseswe assume that there exists a non-holonomic constraint that corresponds to the condition that there be no slipping at the point of contact. In the first case, the system of five differential equations on the level set of first integrals is reduced to quadratures. To define possible types of motion, we carry out a bifurcation analysis of the reduced system. In the case with friction we show that all trajectories shift on average downward and the ball falls.

This paper addresses a conservative system describing the motion of a smooth body in an ideal fluid under the action of an external periodic torque with nonzero mean and of an external periodic force. It is shown that, in the case where the body is circular in shape, the angular velocity of the body increases indefinitely (linearly in time), and the projection of the phase trajectory onto the plane of translational velocities is attracted to a circle. Asymptotic orbital stability (or asymptotic stability with respect to part of variables) exists in the system. It is shown numerically that, in the case of an elliptic body, the projection of the phase trajectory onto the plane of translational velocities is attracted to an annular region.

This paper presents a review of papers devoted to the creation and investigation of spherical robots. Owing to their structural features, namely, geometric symmetry and resistance of actuating mechanisms and elements of the control system against aggressive environmental conditions, robotic systems of this type have a high potential of being used in problems of monitoring, reconnaissance, and transportation on Earth and other planets. A detailed description is given of the structures of prototypes of spherical robots which use different actuation principles: a spherical robot with an internal pendulum mechanism, a spherical robot with an internal omniwheel platform, a spherical robot with internal rotors, and a spherical robot of combined type. Experimental results are presented to give an estimate of the possibility and efficiency of controlled motion. The applied use of spherical robots depending on the type of the actuating mechanism is discussed.

This paper is devoted to investigations of the motion of the propellerless aquatic robots. There are two models of aquatic robots under consideration that move due to rotation of internal rotors. Mathematical models to describe the motion of the robots are proposed. Experiments with different control actions for fabricated prototypes to verify mathematical models have been conducted.

This paper presents the control algorithm of an omnidirectional mobile robot to implement motion along curvilinear trajectories. The trajectory is defined by the Bezier curves of the third order. An algorithm is proposed to generate control actions for the robot’s motion along a given curvilinear trajectory, taking into account the processes of acceleration and deceleration. The experimental results confirm the applicability of the proposed method.

This paper is devoted to investigations of a spherical robot rolling on an oscillating underlying surface. The model of spherical robot of combined type is considered. Based on analysis of equations of motion taking into account the oscillation of the underlying surface, a control algorithm for stabilization of the spherical robot is proposed. The influences of oscillations in horizontal and vertical directions are evaluated. The design of the spherical robot and its control system for fabrication of a prototype are described.

In this paper we address the problem of the motion of the Roller Racer. We assume that the angle φ(t) between the platforms is a prescribed function of time and that the no-slip condition (nonholonomic constraint) and viscous friction force act at the points of contact of the wheels. In this case, all trajectories of the reduced system asymptotically tend to a periodic solution. In this paper it is shown analytically and experimentally that the chosen control defines periodic trajectories of the attachment point of the platforms on an average along a straight line. We determine the conditions for optimal control when the system moves along a straight line depending on the mass and geometric characteristics of the system and control parameters.

The motion of a spherical robot with periodically changing moments of inertia and gyrostatic momentum is considered. Equations of motion are derived within the framework of the model of "rubber" rolling (without slipping and twisting). The stability of partial solutions of the system is studied numerically. It is shown that the system is nonconservative, and, as a consequence, limit cycles and strange attractors exist in the phase space of the system.

This paper addresses the problem of the motion of a circular foil and point vortices in an ideal fluid. A complete qualitative analysis of the motion of a balanced foil and one vortex is carried out. In particular, periodic solutions are found and their stability is investigated. Using a Poincaré map, it is shown that for an unbalanced foil a reduced system exhibits chaotic trajectories.

The inertial motion of a three-link symmetric wheeled vehicle on a plane is considered. A special case where the system admits an additional first integral of motion and invariant measure with nonsmooth density is found.

The dynamics of a body with a fixed point is considered in the case where the moments of inertia of the system depend periodically on time. A stability of permanent rotations is estimated by a numerical approach. In a neighborhood of permanent rotations the linearization of equations of motion results in Hill's equation, and the stability is determined by the eigenvalues of a monodromy matrix. It is shown that stable rotations may be destabilized by periodically changing the moments of inertia due to parametric resonance.

This paper is devoted to investigations of the motion of an aquatic propeller-less robot. The robot motion implemented by rotation of internal rotor. A simple finite-dimensional mathematical model to describe the motion of the robot is proposed. Experiments with control actions providing the motion along a straight line and a circle have been conducted.

In this paper we consider the controlled motion of a symmetric wheeled three-link vehicle on a plane without slipping. Similar systems have been considered in [1] – [6] . We assume that the vehicle consists of three identical platforms (links). The platforms are connected to each other by joints, and a wheel pair is rigidly fastened to the center of mass of each platform. By a wheel pair we mean two wheels rotating independently on the same axis.

In this paper we consider the control of the motion of a dynamically asymmetric unbalanced ball (Chaplygin top) by means of two perpendicular rotors. We propose a mechanism for control by periodically changing the gyrostatic momentum of the system, which leads to an unbounded speedup. We then formulate a general hypothesis of the mechanism for speeding up spherical bodies on a plane by periodically changing the system parameters.

This paper addresses the problem of the rolling of a spherical shell with a frame rotating inside, on which rotors are fastened. It is assumed that the center of mass of the entire system is at the geometric center of the shell.
For the rubber rolling model and the classical rolling model it is shown that, if the angular velocities of rotation of the frame and the rotors are constant, then there exists a noninertial coordinate system (attached to the frame) in which the equations of motion do not depend explicitly on time. The resulting equations of motion preserve an analog of the angular momentum vector and are similar in form to the equations for the Chaplygin ball. Thus, the problem reduces to investigating a two-dimensional Poincaré map.
The case of the rubber rolling model is analyzed in detail. Numerical investigation of its Poincaré map shows the existence of chaotic trajectories, including those associated with a strange attractor. In addition, an analysis is made of the case of motion from rest, in which the problem reduces to investigating the vector field on the sphere $S^2$.

This paper is concerned with the problem of optimal path planning for a mobile wheeled robot. Euler elasticas, which ensure minimization of control actions, are considered as optimal trajectories. An algorithm for constructing controls that realizes the motion along the trajectory in the form of an Euler elastica is presented. Problems and special features of the application of this algorithm in practice are discussed. In particular, analysis is made of speedup and deceleration along the elastica, and of the influence of the errors made in manufacturing the mobile robot on the precision with which the prescribed trajectory is followed. Special attention is also given to the problem of forming optimal trajectories of motion along Euler elasticas to a preset point at different angles of orientation. Results of experimental investigations are presented.

This paper is a small review devoted to the dynamics of a point on a paraboloid. Specifically, it is concerned with the motion both under the action of a gravitational field and without it. It is assumed that the paraboloid can rotate about a vertical axis with constant angular velocity. The paper includes both well-known results and a number of new results.
We consider the two most widespread friction (resistance) models: dry (Coulomb) friction and viscous friction. It is shown that the addition of external damping (air drag) can lead to stability of equilibrium at the saddle point and hence to preservation of the region of bounded motion in a neighborhood of the saddle point. Analysis of three-dimensional Poincaré sections shows that limit cycles can arise in this case in the neighborhood of the saddle point.

This paper presents a qualitative analysis of the dynamics in a fixed reference frame of a wheel with sharp edges that rolls on a horizontal plane without slipping at the point of contact and without spinning relative to the vertical. The wheel is a ball that is symmetrically truncated on both sides and has a displaced center of mass. The dynamics of such a system is described by the model of the ball’s motion where the wheel rolls with its spherical part in contact with the supporting plane and the model of the disk’s motion where the contact point lies on the sharp edge of the wheel. A classification is given of possible motions of the wheel depending on whether there are transitions from its spherical part to sharp edges. An analysis is made of the behavior of the point of contact of the wheel with the plane for different values of the system parameters, first integrals and initial conditions. Conditions for boundedness and unboundedness of the wheel’s motion are obtained. Conditions for the fall of the wheel on the plane of sections are presented.

This paper is concerned with the problem of the interaction of vortex lattices, which is equivalent to the problem of the motion of point vortices on a torus. It is shown that the dynamics of a system of two vortices does not depend qualitatively on their strengths. Steadystate configurations are found and their stability is investigated. For two vortex lattices it is also shown that, in absolute space, vortices move along closed trajectories except for the case of a vortex pair. The problems of the motion of three and four vortex lattices with nonzero total strength are considered. For three vortices, a reduction to the level set of first integrals is performed. The nonintegrability of this problem is numerically shown. It is demonstrated that the equations of motion of four vortices on a torus admit an invariant manifold which corresponds to centrally symmetric vortex configurations. Equations of motion of four vortices on this invariant manifold and on a fixed level set of first integrals are obtained and their nonintegrability is numerically proved.

It is well known that the maximal value of the central moment of inertia of a closed homogeneous thread of fixed length is achieved on a curve in the form of a circle. This isoperimetric property plays a key role in investigating the stability of stationary motions of a flexible thread. A discrete variant of the isoperimetric inequality, when the mass of the thread is concentrated in a finite number of material particles, is established. An analog of the isoperimetric inequality for an inhomogeneous thread is proved.

This paper presents the results of the study of the dynamics of a real spherical robot of combined type in the case of control using small periodic oscillations. The spherical robot is set in motion by controlled change of the position of the center of mass and by generating variable gyrostatic momentum. We demonstrate how to use small periodic controls for stabilization of the spherical robot during motion. The results of numerical simulation are obtained for various initial conditions and control parameters that ensure a change in the position of the center of mass and a variation of gyrostatic momentum. The problem of the motion of a spherical robot of combined type on a surface that performs flat periodic oscillations is also considered. The results of numerical simulation are obtained for different initial conditions, control actions and parameters of oscillations.

This paper presents experimental investigations of the control algorithm of a highly maneuverable mobile manipulation robot. The kinematics of a mobile manipulation robot, the algorithm of trajectory planning of the mobile robot to the point of object gripping are considered. By realization of the algorithm, the following tasks are solved: solution of the inverse positional task for the mobile manipulation robot; motion planning of the mobile manipulator taking into account the minimization of energy and time consumption per movement. The result of the algorithm is a movement to the point of gripping of the manipulation object; grasping and loading of the object. Experimental investigations of the developed algorithms are given.

The dynamics of a body with a fixed point, variable moments of inertia and internal rotors are considered. A stability analysis of permanent rotations and periodic solutions of the system is carried out. In some simplest cases the stability analysis is reduced to investigating the stability of the zero solution of Hill’s equation. It is shown that by periodically changing the moments of inertia it is possible to stabilize unstable permanent rotations of the system. In addition, stable dynamical regimes can lose stability due to a parametric resonance. It is shown that, as the oscillation frequency of the moments of inertia increases, the dynamics of the system becomes close to an integrable one.

This paper is concerned with the rolling of a homogeneous ball with slipping on a uniformly rotating horizontal plane. We take into account viscous friction forces arising when there is slipping at the contact point. It is shown that, as the coefficient of viscosity tends to infinity, the solution of the generalized problem on each fixed time interval tends to a solution of the corresponding nonholonomic problem.

The motion of a circular cylinder in a fluid in the presence of circulation and external periodic force and torque is studied. It is shown that for a suitable choice of the frequency of external action for motion in an ideal fluid the translational velocity components of the body undergo oscillations with increasing amplitude due to resonance. During motion in a viscous fluid no resonance arises. Explicit integration of the equations of motion has shown that the unbounded propulsion of the body in a viscous fluid is impossible in the absence of external torque. In the general case, the solution of the equations is represented in the form of a multiple series.

For a Chaplygin sleigh moving in the presence of weak friction, we present and investigate two mechanisms of arising acceleration due to oscillations of an internal mass. In certain parameter regions, the mechanism induced by small oscillations determines acceleration which is on average one-directional. The role of friction is that the velocity reached in the process of the acceleration is stabilized at a certain level. The second mechanism is due to the effect of the developing oscillatory parametric instability in the motion of the sleigh. It occurs when the internal oscillating particle is comparable in mass with the main platform and the oscillations are of a sufficiently large amplitude. In the nonholonomic model the magnitude of the parametric oscillations and the level of mean energy achieved by the system turn out to be bounded if the line of the oscillations of the moving particle is displaced from the center of mass; the observed sustained motion is in many cases associated with a chaotic attractor. Then, the motion of the sleigh appears to be similar to the process of two-dimensional random walk on the plane.

In this paper, we develop a model of a controlled spherical robot of combined type moving by displacing the center of mass and by changing the internal gyrostatic momentum, with a feedback that stabilizes given partial solutions for a free system at the final stage of motion. According to the proposed approach, feedback depends on phase variables (current position, velocities) and does not depend on the specific type of trajectory. We present integrals of motion and partial solutions, analyze their stability, and give examples of computer simulations of motion with feedback that demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed model.

The paper is concerned with the problem of stabilizing a spherical robot of combined type during its motion. The focus is on the application of feedback for stabilization of the robot which is an example of an underactuated system. The robot is set in motion by an inter- nal wheeled platform with a rotor placed inside the sphere. The results of experimental investigations for a prototype of the spherical robot are presented.

In this paper, we address the free (uncontrolled) dynamics of a snakeboard consisting of two wheel pairs fastened to a platform. The snakeboard is one of the well-known sports vehicles on which the sportsman executes necessary body movements. From the theoretical point of view, this system is a direct generalization of the classical nonholonomic system of the Chaplygin sleigh. We carry out a topological and qualitative analysis of trajectories of this dynamical system. An important feature of the problem is that the common level set of first integrals is a compact two-dimensional surface of genus 5. We specify conditions under which the reaction forces infinitely increase during motion and the so-called phenomenon of nonholonomic jamming is observed. In this case, the nonholonomic model ceases to work and it is necessary to use more complex mechanical models incorporating sliding, elasticity, etc.

This paper is concerned with a nonholonomic system with parametric excitation—the Chaplygin sleigh with time-varying mass distribution. A detailed analysis is made of the problem of the existence of regimes with unbounded growth of energy (an analogue of Fermi’s acceleration) in the case where excitation is achieved by means of a rotor with variable angular momentum. The existence of trajectories for which the translational velocity of the sleigh increases indefinitely and has the asymptotics $\tau^{\frac{1}{3}}$ is proved. In addition, it is shown that, when viscous friction with a nondegenerate Rayleigh function is added, unbounded speed-up disappears and the trajectories of the reduced system asymptotically tend to a limit cycle.

This paper investigates the rolling without slipping of a homogeneous heavy ball on the surface of a rotating cone in two settings: without dissipation in a nonholonomic setting and with rolling friction torque which is proportional to the angular velocity of the ball. In the nonholonomic setting, the resulting system of five differential equations on the level set of first integrals is reduced to quadratures. A bifurcation analysis of the above system is carried out to determine the possible types of motion. In the second case, it is shown that there are not only trajectories emanating from the lower point of the cone (its vertex), but also trajectories to the vertex of the cone (fall). An analysis of the dependence of the type of terminal motion of the center of mass of the ball on initial conditions is carried out.

This paper discusses two approaches for deriving the equations of motion for a ball that rolls without slipping on the surface of a rotating hyperbolic paraboloid. We analyze two possible methods for defining the surface on which the ball rolls, and show the relationship between the two methods. We describe how the stability of the ball’s rotation at the saddle point depends on the radius of the ball, in the case where the stability analysis is made in dimensionless parameters.

This paper addresses the problem of the motion of a sleigh with a free rotor. It is shown that this system exhibits chaotic and regular motions. The case in which the system is balanced relative to the knife edge is of particular interest because it has an additional integral. In this case, the problem reduces to investigating a vector field on a torus and to classifying singular points on it.

A plane-parallel motion of a circular foil is considered in a fluid with a nonzero constant circulation under the action of external periodic force and torque. Various integrable cases are treated. Conditions for the existence of resonances of two types are found. In the case of resonances of the first type, the phase trajectory of the system and the trajectory of the foil are unbounded. In the case of resonances of the second type, the foil trajectory is unbounded, while the phase trajectory of the system remains bounded during the motion.