Whole-Body Touch Sensors for Tracked Mobile Robots Using Force-sensitive Chain Guides

We aim at developing an autonomous rollover protection system for rescue robots. In this study, we propose a method for autonomous rollover protection for tracked mobile robots using distributed touch sensors. We developed touch sensors for tracked robots, and we have also installed them into our developed tracked robot having four flipper arms. We have also explained the system construction and evaluation. The energy stability margins are used for rollover protection. The autonomous rollover protection system was implemented in our robot. Our system can enable the robot to avoid rollovers during a step climb without the manual control of the flipper arms.