Test concept for a mobile robot with optimized traction

Abstract:
Various designs of tracked-mobile-robots have been developed to adapt the robot on different terrains. Unstructured terrain features have been one of the most difficult to convey, as well as to predict. Different mechanisms were developed to increase the traction of the robot with the surface of the ground. However, the previous designs either increased the complexity of the robot or were limited to specific surfaces. In this proposal, we introduce a new type of design of a tracked mobile robot. The robot can convey through different unstructured terrains that are found in a physical environment. The mechanism of the robot consists of three tracks on each side of the robot, where the outer and inner track have the same speed and the middle track rotates at a lower speed. Experiments were conducted, to show the capability of the platform, on different test beds. Using the mechanism with the right type of track-segments a grip-like phenomenon is observed. The phenomenon can help the robot to convey different and rough terrains, in addition, the force on the ground and the shear parameters can be calculated based on the data from the robot’s controller. Moreover, the roughness of a surface can also be estimated from the data of the robot. Therefore, we achieved to develop a platform that has higher traction capabilities and has sensor functionalities to detect soil parameters.