Minirover with Mixed Suspension System

The paper describes the concept and the implementation of a mixed suspension system on a minirover. The solution consists in a front rocker-bogie suspension with four non actuated wheels coupled with a spring-loaded suspension mechanism, while having in the back steerable traction wheels mounted on a spring-loaded suspension type mechanism. Furthermore, the delicate modules of the rover, have an additional damping system in order to limit the unwanted vibrations to these modules. The sum of these systems, along with proper electric drivetrain and specific control strategies, can make the minirover able to confront difficult terrains, while limiting the unwanted movement of its upper part. In most cases the mixed suspensions endows the minirover with capabilities like of climbing steps, different obstacles, with heights up to the diameter of the front wheels and more in special conditions, while having all six wheels in contact with the surface. The main control system of the minirover consists in a a miniboard computer Raspberry Pi attached to a touchscreen that facilitates an onsite software debugging or an online one.