Open AccessA Four-Wheel-Rhombus-Arranged Mobility System for a New Lunar Robotic Rover
Author(s) -
Guilin Wen,
Chuanshuai Ma,
Chaoyang Dong,
Qiutan Jin,
Zhewu Chen,
Xingfa Yang,
Hanfeng Yin,
Jingyu Zhou
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of advanced robotic systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1729-8814
pISSN - 1729-8806
DOI - 10.5772/56917
Subject(s) - rhombus , computer science , terrain , swing , simulation , mechanism (biology) , aerospace engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , engineering , geometry , ecology , mathematics , quantum mechanics , biology
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