Prototype optimization of reconfigurable mobile robots based on a modified Harmony Search method

In this paper, the caster-and-camber-based reconfiguration of the trafficability metrics of mobile robots is first discussed. The trafficability metrics of the reconfigurable mobile robots, such as the equivalent lateral and longitudinal stability margins with non-linear characteristics, can be built up using the geometrical projection approach. We next propose a modified Harmony Search method to deal with the constrained optimization problems, which is based on the direct handling of the given constraints. It is further applied to obtain the optimal configurable prototypes of a mobile robot.