Soft Ground Crawling Robot with Dynamic Posture Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional wheeled robots face difficulties in navigating and operating on soft ground environments like sand due to sinking and slipping, as they lack effective traction and contact area.
Innovation Solution
A soft ground crawling robot design featuring front wheels, a universal wheel, rotary stepping motors, and a swinging stepping motor, with equidistant inner concave surfaces on the wheel surfaces and arc-shaped end covers to enhance traction and contact area, allowing for three degrees of freedom movement and adjustable posture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If traditional wheeled robots increase traction force to prevent slipping on soft ground, then traction capability is improved, but the robot wheels sink into the ground and cannot move
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by enabling the robot to switch between different movement modes (crawling mode and wheel mode) based on ground conditions. The robot body can swing between horizontal and vertical positions, allowing the front wheels to lift off or contact the ground dynamically, thus adapting to soft ground conditions where traditional wheeled movement fails
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the contact area parameter between the robot and ground by transitioning from wheel contact to body contact. When crawling, the entire front surface of the robot body contacts the ground, dramatically increasing the contact area compared to wheel contact, which reduces ground pressure and prevents sinking
2Area of stationary object
If traditional wheeled robots increase contact area between robot and ground to prevent sinking, then ground pressure is reduced, but the robot cannot maintain stable movement
Solution Approach 1:
The robot uses dynamic posture adjustment to maintain stability. The swinging mechanism allows the robot to transition between crawling posture (horizontal body position for maximum contact area on soft ground) and walking posture (vertical body position for stable movement on firm ground), ensuring stability across different terrain conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The robot body serves multiple functions: it acts as both the structural frame and the crawling surface. The front surface of the body shell is designed to directly contact the ground during crawling, providing both support and propulsion functions simultaneously, enhancing movement stability on soft ground
3Area of stationary object
If the robot adopts a crawling posture to increase contact area on soft ground, then sinking is prevented, but the robot cannot move in a plane efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The robot dynamically adjusts its posture based on terrain requirements. On soft ground, it adopts crawling posture with maximum contact area to prevent sinking. On firm ground or during transitional movements, it switches to wheel mode or upright walking mode for more efficient plane movement, thus maintaining productivity across different operational contexts
4Speed
If the robot uses front wheels for movement, then movement speed is improved, but the robot cannot maintain stable posture on soft ground
Solution Approach 1:
The robot uses dynamic posture control to maintain stability during wheel-based movement. The swinging mechanism allows real-time adjustment of the body angle, enabling the robot to maintain an upright or tilted posture as needed when the front wheels are in contact with the ground, thus ensuring posture stability even at higher speeds
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The robot can maintain stability and traction on soft ground, automatically adjust its posture to prevent sinking, and transition between crawling and upright walking, thereby increasing contact area and reducing ground pressure.
Implementation Method 1
The rotary stepping motors are installed on both sides of the supporting assembly; an output shaft of the rotary stepping motor on each side passes through the body shell and then is connected with the front wheel on the same side
Implementation Method 2
the swinging stepping motor is installed on the supporting assembly; the output shaft is connected with the connecting plate; the connecting plate is connected with the body shell through the connecting shaft; the body shell is driven to swing by the swinging stepping motor
Implementation Method 3
The wheel surface of the front wheel body is provided with a plurality of equidistant inner concave surfaces with the same size along the circumferential direction
Implementation Method 4
the front wheel end covers are arc-shaped wheel covers protruding outwards
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention belongs to the field of robots, and relates to a soft ground crawling robot. Front wheels are connected on both sides of the front end of a body shell; a universal wheel is arranged on the rear end; rotary stepping motors are installed on both sides of a supporting assembly; an output shaft of the rotary stepping motor on each side passes through the body shell and then is connected with the front wheel on the same side; a swinging stepping motor is installed on the supporting assembly; the output shaft is connected with a connecting plate; the connecting plate is connected with the body shell through a connecting shaft; the body shell is driven to swing by the swinging stepping motor; lower end covers are rotatably connected on both sides of the body shell; a wheel bracket is connected to the rotary stepping motor on each side; and the wheel bracket on each side is connected with the lower end cover on the same side. The crawling robot of the present invention can crawl on all soft ground while moving in a plane, and overcome the phenomenon that some existing crawling robots cannot walk and work on the soft ground such as sand due to sinking.