Design of practical snake vehicle: articulated body mobile robot KR-II

The characteristics and the applications of the articulated body mobile robot, 'Koryu (KR)', a mobile robot with a new style of articulated body is identified, and the construction of the newly developed 'Koryu-II (KR-II)' is discussed. KR-II takes the form of seven linked articulations and its total length is 3.3 m, and its total weight is 350 kg. KR-II introduces new mechanisms and control systems such as: easily detachable unified segments; self-contained driving system with wireless control; traction wheels attached on one side of the segment; long stroke vertical prismatic joint to cope with a steep inclination; robot hand driven by the coordination control of the body articulation; force sensor based on photodetective technology; and an analog bus system to simplify the electrical installation. Finally, the paper describes KR-II's fundamental results of experimental trials, to show the validity of it as a robot to move and operate in an unstructured environment.<
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