Cylindrical crawler unit based on worm rack mechanism for rescue robot

Abstract

In Japan, since the Great Earthquake, attention has surrounded development of disaster victim relief activity using robots. Development of a robot that is adaptive to various environments in irregular places, rubble, and confined areas is needed. A wheel movement type robot, a robot in the shape of a snake, a crawler type robot and a multi-leg robot are all described in the relevant literature as rescue robots that are currently studied. Although these robots are high efficiency and/or high ground-covering ability, they need comparatively large space to move. In this study, a cylindrical crawler robot based on worm-rack mechanism, that doesn't need large space to move and has high ground-covering ability, is proposed. In this report, structure, driven mechanism, design, prototype, and experimental evaluation are reported.