Design and Analysis of an Amphibious Aerial-Ground Robot

Abstract

A novel coaxial dual-rotor aerial-ground amphibious robot is proposed in this paper to address the inherent trade-off between lightweight design and motion efficiency in existing amphibious platforms. Targeting limitations such as passive systems' energy loss from ground steering friction and active systems' mass increase from additional drives, our solution integrates bio-inspired mechanisms and innovative engineering with three key advancements: A coaxial counter-rotating propulsion system that minimizes structural complexity while enhancing aerial efficiency; A lightweight single-motor deformable mechanism mimicking penguin sliding dynamics, enabling full utilization of propeller thrust for terrestrial locomotion to overcome traditional semi-flight energy bottlenecks; Establishment of a ground locomotion model based on coaxial dual-rotor counter-rotation and rudder control, enabling precise trajectory planning and dynamic optimization. The control system employs dual closed-loop PID algorithms for seamless air-ground transitions, using roll/pitch attitude control in flight mode and rudder-mediated yaw regulation for terrestrial path tracking. Experimental results demonstrate a prototype with 1.8 kg unladen weight and 2.2 kg takeoff weight (four 3S batteries), achieving significant servo load reduction through gravitational self-balancing mechanisms. This work advances efficient multimodal mobility in complex environments, offering practical potential for disaster response and infrastructure inspection through its unified propulsion strategy and model-driven terrestrial control.