Bionic Design of a Self-Reconfigurable Modular Robot for Search and Rescue

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel self-reconfigurable modular robot for search and rescue. The modular robot consists of two main structures, a planetary wheel driven robot body and a double unlocking system as the docking structure. By means of the planetary wheel structure, the robot has a strong flexibility to cross obstacles in a disaster environment. In virtue of the docking structure with double unlocking function, the self-reconfigurable ability has improved robot reliability. Further, the modular robot can be connected or disconnected according to the actual task requirements. Finally, to verify the stability and reliability, the finite element analysis is carried out.