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Reconfigurable wheel-crawler-integrated walking mechanism design and kinetic analysis

Pengfei Zhou (College of Science, Inner Mongolia University of Technology – Xincheng District Campus, Hohhot, China and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Special Service Intelligent Robotics, Hohhot, China)
Shufeng Tang (College of Science, Inner Mongolia University of Technology – Xincheng District Campus, Hohhot, China; School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology – Xincheng District Campus, Hohhot, China and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Special Service Intelligent Robotics, Hohhot, China)
Yubin Liu (The State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Jie Zhao (The State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Zaiyong Sun (College of Science, Inner Mongolia University of Technology – Xincheng District Campus, Hohhot, China)

Industrial Robot

ISSN: 0143-991x

Article publication date: 9 May 2023

Issue publication date: 6 June 2023

176

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to the complex and unpredictable terrain environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau scientific research station, such as cement road, wetland, gravel desert, snowfield, ice surface, grassland, slimy ground, steep slope, step, etc., a reconfigurable walking mechanism based on two movement modes of wheel and triangular crawler was proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

By analyzing the deformation mechanism of the walking mechanism, a reconfigurable wheel-crawler-integrated walking mechanism and the configuration scheme are designed. The analysis of the kinematics and mechanical properties of the swing arm system and the deformation mechanism of the walking mechanism.

Findings

The reconfigurable wheel-crawler-integrated walking mechanism can be switched between the wheel and triangular crawler modes by driving the deformation mechanism. Through the numerical simulation of its movement process, and the trial production and experiment of the prototype, indicates the validity of the reconfigurable wheel-crawler-integrated walking mechanism design.

Originality/value

The work of this paper provides a reconfigurable wheel-crawler-integrated-walking mechanism, which can be used by robots in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau scientific research station. It has excellent reconfigurability and can effectively improve the robot’s adaptability to complex terrain.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Key Technology Research Program of Inner Mongolia (Grant No. 2021GG0258), the Natural Science Foundation of Inner Mongolia (Grant No. 2021MS05005), the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFB1307501), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61763036), the Program for Innovative Research Team in Universities of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant No. NMGIRT2213), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Directly affiliated Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant No. JY20220046). This support is gratefully acknowledged by the authors.

Citation

Zhou, P., Tang, S., Liu, Y., Zhao, J. and Sun, Z. (2023), "Reconfigurable wheel-crawler-integrated walking mechanism design and kinetic analysis", Industrial Robot, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 633-647. https://doi.org/10.1108/IR-08-2022-0208

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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