Dynamics of Nonholonomic Mechanical Systems Using a Natural Orthogonal Complement

The dynamics equations governing the motion of mechanical systems composed of rigid bodies coupled by holonomic and nonholonomic constraints are derived. The underlying method is based on a natural orthogonal complement of the matrix associated with the velocity constraint equations written in linear homogeneous form. The method is applied to the classical example of a rolling disk and an application to a 2-dof Automatic Guided Vehicle is outlined.