Wheeled-Limb Robot With Passive Suspension for Obstacle Mobility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) face challenges in achieving a balance between mobility and endurance, payload capacity, and speed, as they either excel in one aspect while compromising on others, such as wheeled platforms offering good endurance and speed but poor mobility on obstacles, or legged platforms providing good mobility but poor endurance and speed.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid mobility platform combining wheels and limbs with passive suspension, allowing for various operational modes like road driving, off-road driving, wheel tumbling, walking, and climbing, utilizing rotatable chassis parts and adjustable mechanical joints to adapt to different terrains and obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If a wheeled platform is used, then endurance and speed are improved, but mobility on obstacles and irregular terrain deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines wheeled and legged locomotion mechanisms into a single hybrid platform. The vehicle has four limbs with wheels at the ends, allowing it to function as a wheeled vehicle on flat surfaces and as a legged vehicle when climbing obstacles. This merging of two different locomotion paradigms resolves the contradiction by providing both the endurance of wheeled platforms and the obstacle-mobility of legged platforms.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform dynamically transitions between different operational modes (wheeled mode, legged mode, climbing mode) based on terrain conditions. The mechanical joints allow the limbs to adjust their configuration, enabling the vehicle to adapt its locomotion strategy in real-time. This dynamic adaptability allows the platform to maintain both endurance and obstacle mobility across varying terrain types.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a legged platform is used, then mobility on obstacles is improved, but endurance and speed deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The hybrid platform merges the advantages of both wheeled and legged systems. When endurance and speed are priorities (on flat terrain), the platform operates in wheeled mode. When obstacle mobility is prioritized (on rough terrain), it switches to legged mode. This merging eliminates the need to choose between the two conflicting performance characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform is designed with multi-functionality, capable of performing both wheeled locomotion and legged locomotion, as well as climbing operations. This universality allows a single platform to handle diverse terrain types and mission requirements, resolving the contradiction by making the platform effective in both endurance-critical and mobility-critical scenarios.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the chassis body parts are configured to rotate relative to each other, then adaptability to different terrains is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The chassis is segmented into multiple rotatable body parts that can independently adjust their orientation. This segmentation allows each section to adapt to terrain variations while maintaining overall structural integrity. The modular segmented design distributes the complexity across multiple simple rotational joints rather than requiring a single complex mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable chassis body parts provide dynamic adaptability, allowing the vehicle to adjust its configuration in response to terrain conditions. The rotational joints enable the chassis to conform to uneven surfaces and obstacles, enhancing adaptability while using relatively simple rotational mechanisms rather than complex active control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile platform (MP) and method for operating same. The MP comprising: a chassis which extends in a longitudinal direction from a back end to a front end and extends in lateral directions from a centerline to two opposing lateral sides (wherein the chassis comprises body parts configured to rotate); limbs coupled to chassis (wherein each limb comprises an upper limb member, a lower limb member, a first mechanical joint provided at a first point of articulation between the chassis and the upper limb member, and a second mechanical joint provided at a second point of articulation where the upper limb member meets the lower limb member); and wheels connected to the limbs. Each lower limb member has a first wheel connected to a first end and a second wheel connected to an opposing second end. The second mechanical joint may be located between the first and second wheels.