Structure design and kinematics analysis of moving system for a wheel-tracked exploration vehicle

Exploration vehicle is required to run independently to perform the tasks. In order to improve the ability of obstacle surmounting, a new type of wheel-tracked moving system applied on exploration vehicles was presented. And a new method to analyze the kinematics relationships between the tracks and the bodywork were also presented. Then the kinematics model of the exploration vehicle was built and its kinematics equations were deduced. The velocity Jacobin matrices about the bodywork and the wheels were established, and the Least Squares Method was used to compute the bodyworkpsilas velocity and estimate the position and orientation of the exploration vehicle, which can provide references to the navigation and control system. At last, virtual prototyping technology was used to simulate the kinematics characteristics of the exploration vehicle, and at the same time its adaptability and capability of obstacle surmounting was validated.