A Reconfigurable Mobile Robot With Multi-Modal Maneuverability And Study On Its Key Technology

With the development of mobile robot application in many domains such as battle field, medicine, service and aerospace, the requirement toward autonomous theory and technology in unknown environment has increased dramatically. There is not any man-made reference and any priori information such as land marker or light tower in unknown environment which is usually three-dimensional. It is necessary for researchers to have a sophisticated mobile platform with stability, trafficability, terrainability, reliability and mobility, as any navigation algorithm should be realized by a mobile carrier with high trafficability and high maneuverability.On the basis of investigation and synthesis of the relative theory and key technology on the topological structure of locomotion, control system architecture, maneuverability, trafficability, the integration of exact mechanical engineering, net-based communication and sensor technology, an innovative robot with reconfiguration and biomimetic characteristics has been developed for 863 Program of China—Study on Autonomous Navigation System for Intelligence Mobile Robot in Unknown Environment. The key technology related to the mobile robot has been put into fur study.A mobile robot prototype with independent propulsion and individual steering i.e. 4WD4WS has been developed. The mission-oriented mobile robot has the adaptability of terrain, sensors and payload with the scope of 20 kilograms. Different prototypes with diversified wheelbase, wheel stance, clearance, stability margin and altitude of center of gravity can be achieved by reconfiguration. A wheel with high trafficability on sand terrain can be achieved by reconfiguration with bionic features. The hardware of control system of robot with PC104, network-based motor suite, the management MCS module and the monitor software based on networks has laid foundation to the implement of the hierarchical parallel competitive control architecture, system integration for the mechatronic device in small space, the on-line distributed power management and the motion control.Based on the approach of geometry projection integrated with analytic geometry, the reconfigurable prototypes of robot are analyzed by modeling relative comparative coefficients in terms of geometrical trafficability, static stability, maneuverability and...