Practical Obstacle-Overcoming Robot with a Heterogeneous Sensing System: Design and Experiments

Abstract

It is challenging for robots to improve their ability to pass through unstructured environments while maximizing motion performance in cities and factories. This paper presents an omnidirectional deformable wheeled robot based on a heterogeneous sensing system. We presented a novel structure with dual swing arms and six wheels. Moreover, the heterogeneous sensing system can perceive critical environmental data, such as friction and temperature, to assist the robot in executing different functions. In addition, a top-down ‘Order–Decision–Behaviour’ overall motion strategy is proposed based on the data acquisition. The strategy combines the key condition parameters with a kinetic model to integrate the robot’s movement, overcoming of obstacles, and mode switching. The robot is flexible and fast in moving mode and can overcome obstacles safely, reliably, and simply. This study describes the robot’s design, strategy, simulation, and experiments. Motion performance and strategy were investigated and evaluated in field environments.