Development and Evaluation of the Traction Characteristics of a Crawler EOD Robot (original) (raw)

Comparison of performance of different traction systems for Terrainean Robots

2009

Traction is the key component of an outdoor mobile robot. Essentially traction can be achieved by various means including rolling, walking, crawling & hopping. However the mobility vis-a-vis terrainability of a system can be greatly increased using wheels or tracks of various configurations. As such, higher level of operational performance can be achieved through an appropriate design of traction mechanism. This paper deals with some essential features of these approaches with special reference to tracked systems. All Terrain Robot series developed by CMERI e.g. ATR – I & II, Sub-terrainean Robot (SR), Outdoor Mobile Robot (OMR) are a few selective examples showing various capabilities for tracked mobile robots. In these examples the design configuration changes from simple trapezoidal shape to many other forms with active traction support through re-configurable track geometry. This provides necessary passive compliance and better terrainability. The traction design of a specific m...

Design , Analysis and Fabrication of a Crawler Robot

2019

In the context of advanced technology scientists and engineers use complex mechanics and control engineering to make power machines which can do human like work on large scalein mass production or intricate work like neural surgeries in medicine. This necessity has fueled the science of robotics and hence continuous research is being done in this field and recently incorporating other areas like biotechnology, genetics, nanotechnology, aerodynamics etc. to improve human lives in future. Robots find their application everywhere varying from space, military, medicine, domestic to manufacturing industries. The Crawler robot is a very popular project in these fields. Thus a lot of work is being done on this robot. The scope of this paper is to design and fabricate a robotic Crawler (a basic model of what can be a complicated, versatile bot) operated by RF Technology and hopefully give some new ideas for the construction of future Crawlers working in hazardous areas, military surveillanc...

Mobile crawler robot vibration analysis in the contexts of motion speed selection

Journal of Vibroengineering

The article presents the methodology of body vibration analysis of an inspection robot with the use of flexible connection between the body and the track propulsion modules. The article presents the methodology of selection of motion parameters of an inspection robot, taking into account the vibration of the robot body. The speed of movement of the robot affects the frequency of contact track claws with the ground, which is related to the frequency of vibration excitation. Robot motion parameters are chosen in such a way so as not to over-stimulate the natural frequency of the system. Due to the vibration reduction, it was possible to install a visual system based on an Ethernet video camera without a stabilizer in the body of the robot. Such an approach enables mass production of robots without active suppression systems and video stabilizers which generate high production costs, increase weight of robots and energy consumption.

A modular crawler-driven robot: Mechanical design and preliminary experiments

2009 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2009

This paper presents a tracked robot composed of the proposed crawler mechanism, in which a planetary gear reducer is employed as the transmission device and provides two outputs in different forms with only one actuator. When the crawler moves in a rough environment, collision between mechanism and environment inevitably occurs. This underactuated crawler can absorb the impact energy that should be transmitted to the actuator. A modular concept for the crawler is proposed for enlarging its use in robot systems and mechanical design of a modular crawler is conducted. Using this crawler module, a four-crawler-driven robot is realized by easily assembling. Experiments are conducted to verify the proposed concept and mechanical design. A single crawler module can well perform the proposed three locomotion modes. The fourcrawler-driven robot has good adaptability to the environment which can get over obstacles both passively and actively.

Multi-Body Kinematics of Shovel Crawler Performance in Rugged Terrains

International Journal of Mining Science, 2018

Cable shovels are widely used in surface mining operations. The shovel consists of three major assembliesthe lower works or undercarriage, upper body and the front-end assembly. The lower works, which support the upper body and attachment assemblies of cable shovel, consists of propel and crawler systems as shown in Figure 1. The shovel load due to weight of the upper body, attachments and dipper payload acting on the lower works model in Figure 1 are established using load data of P&H 4100C BOSS Electric Shovel [1, 2]. The crawler system is made up of crawler tracks, idlers, rollers and guide rails [3]. The tracks consist of crawler shoes that are connected together by link pins to form a continuous chain [3]. During propel or loading, the weight of the shovel, front-end assembly and the dipper payload are transmitted to the terrain in Figure 1. Under abrasive and rugged terrains, such as in oil sands, the crawler shoes can wear and tear causing premature shoe failure [3]. The multi-body kinematics study on crawlerterrain interactions in surface mining is non-existent. However, some researchers have carried out track-terrain interaction studies on military tracked vehicles and on hydraulic excavators [4-6].The purpose of this chapter is to simulate, under virtual field conditions,the3-D shovel crawlerterrain interaction kinematics using MSC.ADAMS and determine position, velocity and accelerations of each shoe for two types of shovel propel motions. The motions include translation only, and both translation and rotational. The results of this study form the foundations for the detailed crawler-terrain dynamics, fatigue and lifecycle modeling and analysis of shovel crawler assembly.

Design , Analysis and Fabrication of a Crawler Robot NBV

2016

In the context of advanced technology scientists and engineers use complex mechanics and control engineering to make power machines which can do human like work on large scale in mass production or intricate work like neural surgeries in medicine. This necessity has fueled the science of robotics and hence continuous research is being done in this field and recently incorporating other areas like biotechnology, genetics, nanotechnology, aerodynamics etc. to improve human lives in future. Robots find their application everywhere varying from space, military, medicine, domestic to manufacturing industries. The Crawler robot is a very popular project in these fields. Thus a lot of work is being done on this robot. The scope of this paper is to design and fabricate a robotic Crawler (a basic model of what can be a complicated, versatile bot) operated by RF Technology and hopefully give some new ideas for the construction of future Crawlers working in hazardous areas, military surveillan...

Development of a Quadruped Crawling Robot Prototype

Although wheeled robots are commonly used, it has limited ability to move to any terrains at ease. They suffer from difficulties when travelling over uneven and rough terrains. Legged robots have an advantage over the wheeled robots in that they are suited for such situations. The implementation of legged robots normally requires many motors to move every joint in a robot leg. Additional motor will increase the construction cost, robot weight, and the demand for power supply. Moreover, robot simulation becomes more complex. This research is related to the design and development of a cost effective quadruped autonomous robot. The robot can moves according to a unique pattern using three servo motors as its actuator in each of its leg. The design of the robot is firstly made with CAD program and then the structure of the body and the leg is analyzed in order to find a correct balance and to make sure the servo motors are capable to move the robot. A prototype of the quadruped robot is fabricated and tested thoroughly. Experimental studies are carried out to test its stability issues when the robot moves. The robot is capable of moving forward, backward, turn left and turn right by crawling its way. A microcontroller is used as the brain of the robot assisted by two analog distance sensor for better obstacle sensing. It uses a rechargeable battery as the power supply for the microcontroller. The servo motors on the other hand are powered by another rechargeable battery. At the end of this research, a working prototype has been developed.

Innovative design for wheeled locomotion in rough terrain

Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 2002

In our paper we present an innovative locomotion concept for rough terrain based on six motorized wheels. Using rhombus configuration, the rover named Shrimp has a steering wheel in the front and the rear, and two wheels arranged on a bogie on each side. The front wheel has a spring suspension to guarantee optimal ground contact of all wheels at any time. The steering of the rover is realized by synchronizing the steering of the front and rear wheels and the speed difference of the bogie wheels. This allows for precision maneuvers and even turning on the spot with minimum slippage. The use of parallel articulations for the front wheel and the bogies enables to set a virtual center of rotation at the level of or below the wheel axis. This insures maximum stability and climbing abilities even for very low friction coefficients between the wheel and the ground.

Performance comparison of rough-terrain robots—simulation and hardware

Journal of Field Robotics, 2007

This paper investigates kinetic behavior of a planetary rover with attention to tire-soil traction mechanics and articulated body dynamics, and thereby study the control when the rover travels over natural rough terrain. Experiments are carried out with a rover test bed to observe the physical phenomena of soils and to model the traction mechanics, using the tire slip ratio as a state variable. The relationship of load-traction factor versus the slip ratio is modeled theoretically then verified by experiments, as well as specific parameters to characterize the soil are identified. A dynamic simulation model is developed considering the characteristics of wheel actuators, the mechanics of tire-soil traction, and the articulated body dynamics of a suspension mechanism. Simulations are carried out to be compared with the corresponding experimental data and verified to represent the physical behavior of a rover. Finally, a control method is proposed and tested. The proposed method keeps the slip ratio within a small value and limits excessive tire force, so that the rover can successfully traverse over the obstacle without digging the soil or being stuck.

1 Design, Development & Evaluation of a Prototype Tracked Mobile Robot for Difficult Terrain

Sir Syed Research Journal of Engineering & Technology, 2013

This paper reports the design, development andevaluation of a prototype tracked mobile robot for task executionin both natural and human-made environments with stairclimbing feature. First, different types of locomotion systems usedfor mobile robots are compared and their pros and cons arepresented. Then the mechanism designed for the prototypetracked mobile robot is described with the aid of a CAD model.Finally, the results of field testing of the actual robot are presentedand the behavior of tracked mobile robots in presence of slippageis discussed.