Design, Analysis and Fabrication of a Reconfigurable Stair Climbing Robot

Abstract

Over the past few years, the scientists have tried to develop robots that can move on rough terrains. However, there are few robots that are suitable for use in rough terrains. A number of new technologies have evolved for reliable localization, obstacle avoidance and even autonomous map building in dynamically changing environment. However, mobility in very rough terrain is often very limited due to the absence of adequate locomotion concepts. The aim of this project is to introduce a new class of locomotive concept that will have excellent off-road capabilities. As a first prototype of this class,
this four-wheeled robot will have the capability of climbing the stairs of height equal to its diameter. It will possess maximum gripping capacity and stability during motion in rough terrain owing to the 4 differential driven wheel configurations. The long
-term goal of our research is to develop a robust outdoor platform which is suitable to be included in disaster mitigation as well as in security and surveillance missions. The platform should be able to transport application sensors to areas that are dangerous for humans to access, e.g. a collapse-endangered building or an industrial compound after a chemical accident. In those cases, before they enter, the rescue personnel might need some information about the air contamination or the whereabouts of people inside an area. The robot should be upgradeable with a variety of application
sensors, e.g. cameras, thermal vision, or chemical sensors. To be usable in any search and rescue or security application, the robot has to be operational without changing batteries for at least two hours. As the first step into these future goals, our work has wireless control of the robot, which will steer the robot in the target area from remote. The robot will be wirelessly controlled through PC using ZigBee technology. In the future work, sensors, cameras, manipulators can be added to the robot frame. The robot can then serve complex tasks in dangerous areas remotely.