WLR-II, a Hose-less Hydraulic Wheel-legged Robot

The performance of traditional hydraulic robots is often limited by their hoses across moving joints or connecting hydraulic drive units, which would reduce their mobility and impede their ability to operate in complex environment. In response to this deficiency, this paper introduces the WLR-II (the second generation of wheel-legged robot), a novel hydraulic wheel-legged robot developed by using hose-less design approach which is focused on improving the reliability of the hydraulic system and perfecting the appearance of the robot. As its notable features, seven Hydraulic Hose-less Joints (HHJ) that include a pair of high and also low pressure oil pipes based on rotary seal, Cylinder-Valve-Skeleton (CVS) integration thighs and arms which are produced by subtractive manufacturing as well as oscillating cylinders driven by gear rack transmission are included. In addition to a description of its design, experimental characterizations of rough pavement adaptability and payload capability together with the achievement of the reliability of hydraulic system are also demonstrated. As a result, we confirmed effectiveness of the hose-less design by moving on the rugged ground, climbing slope, squatting with load, dragging and picking up a heavy load. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the first time that the design of a hose-less hydraulic wheel-legged robot has been presented.