Eight-Wheel Mecanum Omnidirectional Autonomous Mobile Robot: Kinematics, Architecture, and Validation

Abstract

Autonomous omnidirectional vehicles that combine redundant holonomic kinematics, ROS 2/micro-ROS implementation, and simulation-to-real validation remain limited in the literature. This paper presents an eight-wheel Mecanum autonomous mobile robot for campus navigation in environments shared with pedestrians. The work formulates forward and inverse kinematics for the redundant eight-wheel topology and implements a distributed architecture in which ROS 2 handles high-level navigation and micro-ROS connects ESP32-based wheel interfaces. The platform integrates LiDAR, stereo vision, inertial, encoder, and ultrasonic sensing within a closed-loop navigation stack. Validation was conducted through Gazebo simulation and physical experiments using an out-and-back navigation protocol. In the physical platform, 91 of 100 missions were completed without safety interruptions, with pose-accuracy success rates of 96% for outbound legs and 81% for return legs under e p < 1.5 m and e θ | <15∘. Median errors at the intermediate waypoint were 0.64m, 0.191m, and 17∘, while final-pose medians after return were 1.016m, 0.573 m, and 28.5∘. These results provide a quantitative baseline for campus-scale redundant Mecanum navigation and identify heading recovery as the main limitation.