Structural Design and Analysis of a Throwable Robot with Hybrid Rigid-Flexible Deformable Wheels

Abstract

Throwable robots, which can be rapidly deployed into operational areas through manual throwing, catapulting, or aerial dropping, hold significant potential for applications in military reconnaissance, urban counter-terrorism, and postdisaster rescue due to their compact size, light weight, and high portability. However, most existing throwable robots have limitations in terms of size and impact resistance, which prevents them from adapting to special terrains such as stairs and mountains, severely reducing their mobility efficiency and reliability. To address these issues, this paper innovatively proposes a tossing robot capable of climbing stairs. First, the overall structure of the robot was designed using 3D modeling software, combining a flexible wheel with a deformable wheel to ensure sufficient impact resistance while enhancing obstaclecrossing capabilities. A telescopic tail support was also designed to prevent direct impact during tossing. Subsequently, a physical prototype of the throwable robot was manufactured based on the 3D model, and the overall control system and PID control algorithm for the robot were designed. The robot’s mobility and obstacle-crossing performance were tested, including the deployment of the deformable wheel and the wheel’s obstaclecrossing test. The tests demonstrated the robot’s good flexibility and obstacle-crossing ability.