Open AccessNew Body Design for Flexible Mono-Tread Mobile Track: Layered Structure and Passive Retro-Flexion
Author(s) -
Takafumi HAJI,
Tetsuya KINUGASA,
Araki Shin'ichi,
Daiki Hanada,
Kōji Yoshida,
Hisanori Amano,
Ryota HAYASHI,
Kenichi TOKUDA,
Masatsugu IRIBE
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of robotics and mechatronics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1883-8049
pISSN - 0915-3942
DOI - 10.20965/jrm.2014.p0460
Subject(s) - tread , track (disk drive) , terrain , interference (communication) , computer science , mobile robot , span (engineering) , simulation , automotive engineering , robot , engineering , structural engineering , telecommunications , artificial intelligence , materials science , operating system , geography , channel (broadcasting) , natural rubber , composite material , cartography
Flexible mono-tread mobile track RT06Robot technology is expected to be applicable to missions on rough terrain, such as rescue activities, environmental investigation, and planetary exploration. Tracked vehicles are effective in such environments because the contact pressure of the vehicle can be distributed more widely. To improve mobility, new mechanisms such as serpentine tracked vehicles have been proposed. We previously proposed the flexible mono-tread mobile track (FMT). The first prototype, WORMY, had a mechanical problem when it moves flexing, i.e., track belt interference and derailing. This paper proposes and confirms a new FMT design strategy using a layered structure to reduce space between vertebrae, solving derailing. A new prototype using the layered structure confirmed its mobility. We also used the prototype to evaluate the effectiveness of passive retro-flexion against obstacles.
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