Tracked Robot with Blade Arms to Enhance Crawling Capability
This paper presents a tracked robot with blade arms powered to assist movement in difficult environments. As a result, the tracked robot is able to pass a ramp or climb stairs. The main feature is a pair of blade arms on both sides of the vehicle body working in collaboration with previously validated transformable track system. When the robot encounters an obstacle in a terrain, it enlists the blade arms with power to overcome the obstacle. In disaster areas, there usually will be terrains that are full of broken and complicated slopes, broken walls, rubbles, and ditches. Thereupon, a robot, which is instructed to pass through such disaster areas, needs to have a good off-road capability for such complicated terrains. The robot with crawling-assisting blade arms would overcome the obstacles along the terrains, and possibly become to be a rescue robot. A prototype has been developed and built; experiments were carried out to validate the enhanced crawling capability of the robot.
[1] W. Wang, L. Zhou, Z. Du, and L. Sun,” Track-Terrain Interaction Analysis for Tracked Mobile Robot,” Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE/ASME, International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, July 2008, pp.126-131.
[2] C. R. Weishin, J. Blitch, D. Lavery, and E. Krotkov, “Miniature Robots for Space and Military missions,” Robotics & Automation Magazine, vol.6, no.3, 1999, pp.9-18.
[3] D. Calisi, A. Farinelli, L. Iocchi, and D. Nardi, “Autonomous navigation and exploration in a rescue environment,” IEEE International in Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics Workshop, June 2005, pp. 54–59.
[4] J. Casper and Robin R. Murphy,” Human-Robot Interactions During the Robot-Assisted Urban Search and Rescue Response at the World Trade Center,” IEEE Trans on Systems, Man., and Cybernetics, Part B: Cybernetics, vol.33, no.3, June 2003, pp.367-385.
[5] C. R. Weishin, D.B. Lavery, and G. Rodrigncz,” Robots in space: U.S. missions and technology requirements into the next century,” J. Autunomous Robots, vol. 4, May 1997, pp. 159-173.
[6] J. A. Okello, M. Watany, and D. A. Crolla,” A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Rubber Track Performance Models,” Journals of Agriculture Engineering, vol.69, 1998, pp.15-24.
[7] James H. Lever, Daniel Denton, and Gary E. Phetteplace,” Mobility of a Lightweight Tracked Robot Over Deep Snow,” Journals of Terramechanics, vol.43, 2006, pp.527-551.
[8] W. Lee and S. Kang,” Rough Terrain Negotiable Mobile Platform with Passively Adaptive Double-Tracked and Its Application to Rescue Missions,” Proceeding of International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2005, pp.1591-1596.
[9] K. N. Kumar, A. Gopichand, M. G. Anjaneyulu, and B. G. Krishna,” Design and Development of Adjustable Stair Climbing Robot,” International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology (IJRET), vol.2, no.4, Apr. 2013, pp.470-475.
[10] G. Bekker,” Introduction to Terrain-Vehicle Systems,” Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; 1969.
[11] Helmick, D. M. et al.,” Multi-Sensor, high Speed Autonomous Stair Climbing,” Proceeding of International Conference on Intelligent Robots and System, 2002, pp.733-742.
[12] S. Odedra, S. D. Prior, and M. Karamanoglu,” Investigating the Mobility of Unmanned Ground Vehicles,” Proceedings of International Conference on Manufacturing and Engineering Systems, 2009, pp.380-385.
[13] Y. Yamada, G. Endo, and E. F. Fukushima,” Blade-Type Vehicle Bio-inspired by a Wharf Roach,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA), June 2014, pp.806-812.
[14] R. Edlinger, M. Zauner, and W. Rokitansky,” Intelligent Mobility – New Approach of Robot Mobility Systems for Rescue Scenarios,” IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR), Oct. 2013, pp.1-5.
[15] X. Zang, Y. Liu, and Y. Zhu,” Structure Design of a Mobile Jack Robot,” Proceeding of the IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation (ICIA), Aug. 2013, pp.1218-1223.
[16] Bram G. A. Lambrecht, Andrew D. Horchler, and Roger D. Quinn,” A small, Insect-Inspired Robot that Runs and Jumps,” Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2005, pp.1240-1245.
[17] P. Birkmeyer, K. Peterson, and R. S. Fearing,” DASH: A Dynamic 16g Hexapedal Robot,” Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2009, pp.2683-2689.
[18] S. Kim, JE. Clark, and MR. Cutkosky,” iSprawl: Design and Tuning for High-Speed Autonomous Open-Loop Running,” The International Journal of Robotics Research, vol.25, no. 9, Sep. 2006, pp. 903-912.
[1] W. Wang, L. Zhou, Z. Du, and L. Sun,” Track-Terrain Interaction Analysis for Tracked Mobile Robot,” Proceedings of the 2008 IEEE/ASME, International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, July 2008, pp.126-131.
[2] C. R. Weishin, J. Blitch, D. Lavery, and E. Krotkov, “Miniature Robots for Space and Military missions,” Robotics & Automation Magazine, vol.6, no.3, 1999, pp.9-18.
[3] D. Calisi, A. Farinelli, L. Iocchi, and D. Nardi, “Autonomous navigation and exploration in a rescue environment,” IEEE International in Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics Workshop, June 2005, pp. 54–59.
[4] J. Casper and Robin R. Murphy,” Human-Robot Interactions During the Robot-Assisted Urban Search and Rescue Response at the World Trade Center,” IEEE Trans on Systems, Man., and Cybernetics, Part B: Cybernetics, vol.33, no.3, June 2003, pp.367-385.
[5] C. R. Weishin, D.B. Lavery, and G. Rodrigncz,” Robots in space: U.S. missions and technology requirements into the next century,” J. Autunomous Robots, vol. 4, May 1997, pp. 159-173.
[6] J. A. Okello, M. Watany, and D. A. Crolla,” A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Rubber Track Performance Models,” Journals of Agriculture Engineering, vol.69, 1998, pp.15-24.
[7] James H. Lever, Daniel Denton, and Gary E. Phetteplace,” Mobility of a Lightweight Tracked Robot Over Deep Snow,” Journals of Terramechanics, vol.43, 2006, pp.527-551.
[8] W. Lee and S. Kang,” Rough Terrain Negotiable Mobile Platform with Passively Adaptive Double-Tracked and Its Application to Rescue Missions,” Proceeding of International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2005, pp.1591-1596.
[9] K. N. Kumar, A. Gopichand, M. G. Anjaneyulu, and B. G. Krishna,” Design and Development of Adjustable Stair Climbing Robot,” International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology (IJRET), vol.2, no.4, Apr. 2013, pp.470-475.
[10] G. Bekker,” Introduction to Terrain-Vehicle Systems,” Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; 1969.
[11] Helmick, D. M. et al.,” Multi-Sensor, high Speed Autonomous Stair Climbing,” Proceeding of International Conference on Intelligent Robots and System, 2002, pp.733-742.
[12] S. Odedra, S. D. Prior, and M. Karamanoglu,” Investigating the Mobility of Unmanned Ground Vehicles,” Proceedings of International Conference on Manufacturing and Engineering Systems, 2009, pp.380-385.
[13] Y. Yamada, G. Endo, and E. F. Fukushima,” Blade-Type Vehicle Bio-inspired by a Wharf Roach,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA), June 2014, pp.806-812.
[14] R. Edlinger, M. Zauner, and W. Rokitansky,” Intelligent Mobility – New Approach of Robot Mobility Systems for Rescue Scenarios,” IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR), Oct. 2013, pp.1-5.
[15] X. Zang, Y. Liu, and Y. Zhu,” Structure Design of a Mobile Jack Robot,” Proceeding of the IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation (ICIA), Aug. 2013, pp.1218-1223.
[16] Bram G. A. Lambrecht, Andrew D. Horchler, and Roger D. Quinn,” A small, Insect-Inspired Robot that Runs and Jumps,” Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2005, pp.1240-1245.
[17] P. Birkmeyer, K. Peterson, and R. S. Fearing,” DASH: A Dynamic 16g Hexapedal Robot,” Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2009, pp.2683-2689.
[18] S. Kim, JE. Clark, and MR. Cutkosky,” iSprawl: Design and Tuning for High-Speed Autonomous Open-Loop Running,” The International Journal of Robotics Research, vol.25, no. 9, Sep. 2006, pp. 903-912.
@article{"International Journal of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Sciences:74170", author = "Jhu-Wei Ji and Fa-Shian Chang and Lih-Tyng Hwang and Chih-Feng Liu and Jeng-Nan Lee and Shun-Min Wang and Kai-Yi Cho", title = "Tracked Robot with Blade Arms to Enhance Crawling Capability", abstract = "This paper presents a tracked robot with blade arms powered to assist movement in difficult environments. As a result, the tracked robot is able to pass a ramp or climb stairs. The main feature is a pair of blade arms on both sides of the vehicle body working in collaboration with previously validated transformable track system. When the robot encounters an obstacle in a terrain, it enlists the blade arms with power to overcome the obstacle. In disaster areas, there usually will be terrains that are full of broken and complicated slopes, broken walls, rubbles, and ditches. Thereupon, a robot, which is instructed to pass through such disaster areas, needs to have a good off-road capability for such complicated terrains. The robot with crawling-assisting blade arms would overcome the obstacles along the terrains, and possibly become to be a rescue robot. A prototype has been developed and built; experiments were carried out to validate the enhanced crawling capability of the robot.
", keywords = "Tracked robot, rescue robot, blade arm, crawling ability, control system.", volume = "10", number = "11", pages = "1842-5", }
