Effect of Compliance on Ground Adaptability of Crawler Mobile Robots with Sub-Crawlers

There is a demand for remotely controlled mobile robots with high terrain performance on uneven roads where the road surface has taken on a rugged profile due to rubble deposition in the aftermath of a disaster. Crawler-type mobile robots with sub-crawlers (ground-adaptive crawler robot) are known to have a high level of rough terrain performance. However, their operation is complicated and difficult. In this study, we defined ground adaptability and proposed its evaluation index in order to realize the objective of a crawler robot that is both ground-adaptive and smooth traversing on rough terrain. The purpose of this study is to clarify the traversing principle of the ground-adaptive crawler robot on rough terrain by positively adopting the characteristics of the mechanism. The traversing principle for a ground-adaptive crawler robot, using the mechanical characteristics of the robot, aiming to achieve the stated objective was elucidated by focusing on the interaction between the robot and continuous steps obstacles. As a result of clarifying the relationship for the moments generated on the interaction between the obstacle and the robot, the possibility of traversing with ground adaptability on rough terrain by utilizing the mechanical compliance of the groundadaptive crawler robot was shown.