Sensor packaging method based on the solid tire sole of wheel-legged robot

For wheel-legged robots, the unique wheel-legged structure significantly influences the dynamics and kinematic behavior of the foot during ground contact. This paper presents a resistive strain gauge sensor integration scheme for solid tires, wherein sensors are embedded within the tires to actively monitor the touchdown information of the foot-end. A method is proposed for embedding the solid tires in circumferential arrays to capture the plantar strain state, which supports the control system of wheel-legged robots. To evaluate the effectiveness of this sensor package, a simulated impact experiment was conducted to simulate the wheel-legged ground contact. The experimental results demonstrate that the strain gauge embedding method effectively detects the strain response of solid tires under impact. Since ground contact information is crucial for the autonomous switching of the wheel-legged structure in robots, the successful implementation of this sensing system for ground contact monitoring holds significant potential for both research and practical engineering applications.