Latest Papers

ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics

  • Integrated Wheel–Foot–Arm Design of a Mobile Platform With Linkage Mechanisms
    on March 20, 2024 at 12:00 am

    AbstractInspired by lizards, a novel mobile platform with revolving linkage legs is proposed. The platform consists of four six-bar bipedal modules, and it is designed for heavy transportation on unstructured terrain. The platform possesses smooth-wheeled locomotion and obstacle-adaptive legged locomotion to enhance maneuverability. The kinematics of the six-bar bipedal modules is analyzed using the vector loop method, subsequently ascertaining the drive scheme. The foot trajectory compensation curve is generated using the fixed-axis rotation contour algorithm, which effectively reduces the centroid fluctuation and enables seamless switching between wheels and legs. When encountering obstacles, the revolving linkage legs act as climbing arms, facilitating seamless integration of wheel, foot, and arm. A physical prototype is developed to test the platform on three typical terrains: flat terrain, slope, and vertical obstacle. The experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of the platform structure. The platform can climb obstacles higher than its own height without adding extra actuation.

Extensible Continuum Manipulator Toward In-situ Explosive Ordnance Disposal

Abstract

Homemade bombs made by terrorists threaten seriously the social public security. Now, it is still a challenge to guarantee safety without destroying bombs. Compared with the destructive explosive disposal approach employing rigid robots, we proposed an in-situ explosive disposal method, which takes advantage of an extensible continuum manipulator to pass through obstacles and cut wires by end-effector. The spring-based continuum manipulator has six-degrees-of-freedom and is 400 mm in length but only 15 mm in diameter. Also, we have created only a 15 g end-effector that can cut 1-mm-diameter copper wire and embed a miniature camera. According to the experiment, a single continuum manipulator has around 2 mm repeatability accuracy and can carry a 50 g weight. Without special training, the operator can control the integrated explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) robot to complete a simulation mission in approximately five minutes. This paper broadens the application of the continuum manipulator and gives a unique solution for EOD robots.

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