Title :
Design of practical snake vehicle: articulated body mobile robot KR-II
Author :
Hirose, Shigeo ; Morishima, Akio ; Tukagosi, Siniti ; Tsumaki, Toshimichi ; Monobe, Hiroyuki
Author_Institution :
Tokyo Inst. of Technol., Japan
Abstract :
The characteristics and the applications of the articulated body mobile robot, ´Koryu (KR)´, a mobile robot with a new style of articulated body is identified, and the construction of the newly developed ´Koryu-II (KR-II)´ is discussed. KR-II takes the form of seven linked articulations and its total length is 3.3 m, and its total weight is 350 kg. KR-II introduces new mechanisms and control systems such as: easily detachable unified segments; self-contained driving system with wireless control; traction wheels attached on one side of the segment; long stroke vertical prismatic joint to cope with a steep inclination; robot hand driven by the coordination control of the body articulation; force sensor based on photodetective technology; and an analog bus system to simplify the electrical installation. Finally, the paper describes KR-II´s fundamental results of experimental trials, to show the validity of it as a robot to move and operate in an unstructured environment.<>
Keywords :
mobile robots; KR-II articulated body mobile robot; analog bus system; detachable unified segments; force sensor; long stroke vertical prismatic joint; photodetective technology; robot hand; self-contained driving system; snake vehicle; steep inclination; unstructured environment; wireless control; Construction industry; Control systems; Force control; Machinery; Mobile robots; Robot kinematics; Robot sensing systems; Vehicles; Wheels; Wireless sensor networks;
Conference_Titel :
Advanced Robotics, 1991. 'Robots in Unstructured Environments', 91 ICAR., Fifth International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Pisa, Italy
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-0078-5
DOI :
10.1109/ICAR.1991.240571
