Structural Analysis of a Search and Rescue Robot

Due to global warming and other human activities, the number of disasters such as building collapses, fires, earthquakes, terrorism, and wars is increasing day by day. Since it is not possible for conventional land vehicles to go through rough terrains, search and rescue robots are becoming more relevant these days. Search and rescue robots are equipped with tracks, enabling them to traverse rough terrains. Since such wheel-tracked robots have the advantages of wheeled and tracked robots, Search and rescue robots are widely studied by researchers worldwide. Also, these robots are equipped with flippers, which enable them to climb stairs and balance themselves in rough terrains. In this paper, static structural analysis of different parts of a search and rescue robot was performed in Ansys Workbench to ensure the robot can operate safely in complex terrains. The static structural analysis was performed at the drive coupler connecting the bevel gear to the flipper assembly of the search and rescue robot, the search and rescue robot bevel gear, and the frame of the search and rescue robot. The equivalent stress, equivalent strain, total deformation, and safety factors were analyzed. Static structural analysis reveals satisfactory safety margins in the search and rescue robot components except for the bevel gear, prompting the necessary redesign for enhanced strength and overall reliability.