A Portable Six-Wheeled Mobile Robot With Reconfigurable Body and Self-Adaptable Obstacle-Climbing Mechanisms

Abstract Mobile robots can replace rescuers in rescue and detection missions complex unstructured environments draw the interest of many researchers. This paper presents a novel six-wheeled mobile robot with reconfigurable body self-adaptable obstacle-climbing mechanisms, which reconfigure itself to three locomotion states realize advantages terrain adaptability, obstacle-crossing ability, portability. Design criteria mechanical design proposed are first presented, based on geometry is modeled geometric constraint, static conditions, motion stability condition for obstacle crossing derived formulated. Numerical simulations then conducted verify passing capability, find feasible structure parameters crossing. Further, physical prototype developed integrated mechatronic systems remote control. Using prototype, field experiments carried out feasibility theoretical derivations. The results show that satisfies all set applications disastrous rescuing scenarios.