REWW-ARM -- Remote Wire-Driven Mobile Robot: Design, Control, and Experimental Validation

Abstract

Electronic devices are essential for robots but limit their usable environments. To overcome this, methods excluding electronics from the operating environment while retaining advanced electronic control and actuation have been explored. These include the remote hydraulic drive of electronics-free mobile robots, which offer high reachability, and long wire-driven robot arms with motors consolidated at the base, which offer high environmental resistance. To combine the advantages of both, this study proposes a new system, "Remote Wire Drive." As a proof-of-concept, we designed and developed the Remote Wire-Driven robot "REWW-ARM", which consists of the following components: 1) a novel power transmission mechanism, the "Remote Wire Transmission Mechanism" (RWTM), the key technology of the Remote Wire Drive; 2) an electronics-free distal mobile robot driven by it; and 3) a motor-unit that generates power and provides electronic closed-loop control based on state estimation via the RWTM. In this study, we evaluated the mechanical and control performance of REWW-ARM through several experiments, demonstrating its capability for locomotion, posture control, and object manipulation both on land and underwater. This suggests the potential for applying the Remote Wire-Driven system to various types of robots, thereby expanding their operational range.