Analysis on the steering characteristics of an underwater exploration robot

To grasp the driving characteristics of wheel-tracked exploration robot, and to complete its structural design and control system design, the steering characteristics of the robot have been studied. Firstly, the steering characteristics on horizontal surface have been analyzed, then the main structural parameters of the robot has been determined, and meanwhile the influence law of turning radius to smooth steering has been summed. The flexible steering coefficient has been proposed to evaluate the difficulty degree of exploration robot, and the steering drive factors of inner and outer wheels have been determined under different turning radius and then the threshold of steering resistance torque has been obtained, the valid parameters for structural design and steering control system have been provided.