Development of Mobile Robot TO-ROVER

Abstract

New type of mobile robot TO-ROVER developed here has the feature that it can not only run on flat floor but go up and down stairs, go over obstacles and turn in narrow space, controlled by a micro-computer with simple control procedure. The mechanism of TO-ROVER consists of two pairs of three arms which rotate for going up and down, wheels at the end of each arm for running and turning, and mechanism to bend the arm-wheel drive units for shortening its length. Experiments show the stable motion of automatic going up and down stairs or going over obstacles. Some suggestions for practical design of TO-ROVER are proposed.