Mobile robot structure design, modeling and simulation for confined space application

The atmospheric hazards that may be present in confined space pose serious threat to human while carrying special task in the respective location. Among the areas that are considered as confined space are utility tunnel, boiler, storage tank, sewage lines, man holes and underground electrical fault. Currently, there is no specific technique to replace worker for task such as collecting air sample in the confined space for monitoring the hazards. A mobile robot integrated with an electronic nose (e-nose) (i.e also called mobile olfaction) can be used to maneuver through the environment and at the same time monitor the hazards. In this paper a mobile robot structure is designed, modeled and simulated for confined space application. The mobile robot is designed to adopt four wheels skid-steering driving mechanism to allow immediate and sharp turning. The mathematical description of the robot is represented by static kinematic model. The robot's rectangular structure is built using hollow rectangular mild steel bars. Simulation is done to analyse the structure's stress and displacement. The analysis of the results indicates that the structure is suitable to be used for the confined space application.