Rough Terrain Traveling Method Using an Elastic Telescopic Arm and a Tether

Towing a mobile platform with a tether fixed to the external environment is an effective way to traverse rough terrain. A flexibly bendable telescopic arm that can carry the tether at its arm tip was developed in a previous study. This study is focused on the rough terrain traveling method using a compact elastic telescopic arm installed on a mobile platform. Furthermore, by fusing the linear and bending mechanisms, we developed an elastic telescopic arm that is compact and can perform extension and bending motions on the same body. The results of the arm operation experiment showed that the extension-to-contraction ratio was improved by 16%, and the tip position control accuracy was improved by 70% compared to the previous study. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method was demonstrated by a step-climbing experiment, wherein, the step height was more than the wheel diameter of the mobile platform.