Motion of Wheeled Mobile Robot with a Compliant Mechanism

Abstract

A newly designed step climbing wheeled robot is discussed with detailed analysis. The proposed mechanism has a compliant element between the front and rear wheels to help the wheels climbing the step which is higher than the wheel radius. The analysis gives the optimal compliance of the compliant element to keep the contact between the wheel and the step wall as long as possible. Some simulation and experimental results are also given to show the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism.