Wheels slip when controlling a wheeled robot using differential controller

Omniverse Isaac Sim
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1

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Isaac Sim Version

5.0.0
4.5.0
4.2.0
4.1.0
4.0.0
4.5.0
2023.1.1
2023.1.0-hotfix.1
Other (please specify):

Operating System

Ubuntu 22.04
Ubuntu 20.04
Windows 11
Windows 10
Other (please specify):

GPU Information

  • Model: RTX 4090
  • Driver Version:

Topic Description

When using the WheelBasePoseController for navigating to a target, the robot wheels slip/lag when the robot moves in a straight line. This only occurs when using the WheelBasePoseController for navigating between two targets, if we simply use the DifferentialController to give commands, it works correctly.

Detailed Description

Ideally, the wheels should not slip or lag when moving.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Load a mobile robot in the scene using the WheeledRobot class.
  2. Use the DifferentialController and WheelBasePoseController to navigate to a target position.
  3. Wheels start slipping when the robot moves in a straight line.

Error Messages

none

Screenshots or Videos

Additional Information

I have tested the simulation on both IsaacSim 4.5 and 5.0 and the behavior of the wheels is the same. They seem to slip/lag. However if I print the wheel action output from differential_controller.forward(), it remains constant.

image
image1543×328 12.4 KB

(Describe any troubleshooting steps you’ve already taken)

Tested with different damping and stiffness on the joints. Added physics material for friction. Played with the values of the wheel_base and wheel_radius for the DifferentialController. I have attached the extension below:

CarterTest.zip (4.5 MB)

3

Hi @saa-97, thank you for posting your issue. Since you are using a differential controller with a four wheeled robot slip is expected to happen. The reason you might see different slip motion compared to what is commanded is because the controller is trying to achieve the set target but might not be exact due to slip forces. If you set the kd gains to be higher it will probably track the targets more aggresively.

4

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