A Four-Wheel-Rhombus-Arranged Mobility System for a New Lunar Robotic Rover. (28th October 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wen, Guilin; Ma, Chuanshuai; Cheng, Dong; Jin, Qiutan; Chen, Zhewu; Yang, Xingfa; Yin, Hanfeng; Zhou, Jingyu
• Is Part Of: International journal of advanced robotic systems. Volume 10:Number 10(2013)
• Publication Date: 2013-10-28
• Subjects: Lunar Robotic Rover -- Mobility -- Manoeuvrability -- Lightweight -- Rhombus-Arranged Wheels; Robotics -- Periodicals; Robotics; Periodicals; 629.892
• DOI: 10.5772/56917
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1729-8806

Abstract

Different from traditional ground vehicles, planetary robotic rovers with limited weight and power need to travel in unfamiliar and extremely arduous environments. In this paper, a newly developed four-wheel-rhombus-arranged (FWRA) mobility system is presented as a lunar robotic rover with high mobility and a low-weight structure. The mobility system integrates independent active suspensions with a passive rotary link structure. The active suspension with swing arms improves the rover's capacity to escape from a trapped environment whereas the passive rotary link structure guarantees continuous contact between the four wheels and the terrain. The four-wheel-three-axis rhombus configuration of the mobility system gives a high degree of lightweight structure because it has a simple mechanism with the minimum number of wheels among wheeled rovers with three-axis off-road mobility. The performance evaluation of the lightweight nature of the structure, manoeuvrability and the mobility required in a planetary exploring environment are illustrated by theoretical analysis and partly shown by experiments on the developed rover prototype.