Development of structural design and control of a mobile robot for decreasing weight with driving stability on unstructured terrain

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24560287
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Intelligent mechanics/Mechanical systems
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: OKADA TOKUJI 新潟大学, 自然科学系, フェロー (60194362)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 知能機械 / メカトロニクス / 移動ロボット / 車いす / 有限要素法 / サスペンション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to design an electric wheelchair that can move autonomously and adaptively on an irregular terrain by getting simple commands given by a driver utilizing two inclination sensors, we built a robust and simple mechanical mobile robot system having wheels with feet. Also, we demonstrated the usefulness of the system in a practical field. In addition, we showed a method of designing a lightweight chassis for aiming a robot body that takes a role of suspensions too. The method made the robot stand stably with four contacts even when the ground is not even. The robot can press the feet against the ground in need by adjusting the height of a wheel axis position when it traverses a slope, for instance. Thus the robot body is decreased from bending even when the body is elastic and the driving became safe by preventing the robot from falling down. This study clarified technical considerations to make the stable navigation in hardware and software viewpoints.

Free Research Field

工学