Optimal design of a new wheeled mobile robot based on a kinetic analysis of the stair climbing states

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new wheeled mobile robot (WMR) with a passive linkage-type locomotive mechanism that allows the WMR to adapt passively to rough terrain and climb up stairs, making it ideal for applications such as building inspection, building security, and military reconnaissance. A simple four-bar linkage mechanism and a limited pin joint are proposed after considering two design needs: adaptability and passivity. To improve the WMR's ability to climb stairs, we divided the stair-climbing motion into several stages, taking into consideration the status of the points of contact between the driving wheels and the step. For each of the suggested stages, a kinetic analysis was accomplished and validated using the multi-body dynamic analysis software package ADAMS. The object functions are presented for the stages that influence the WMR's ability to climb stairs. The optimization of the object functions is carried out using the multiobjective optimization method.