Development of Snake-like Planetary Robots with Infinite Number of Rotation Axes

Abstract

It is known that snake-like robots have lower movement efficiency than four-wheeled mobile robots. Therefore, in this research, we propose a snake-like robot which can transform into a bicycle mode. Then the purpose is to improve the movement efficiency on flat ground. We have already designed a snake-like robot for stabilization analysis. In this paper, structural analysis is applied to the previously designed snake-like robot to examine whether the shape and wall thickness of each part is appropriate. In addition, since wiring cannot be passed through the infinite rotation axis, in this research, the servo motor farther than the infinite rotation axis is controlled using wireless communication. Therefore, we describe the XBee and ZigBee standards used for wireless communication, and explain the communication establishment and time synchronization through wireless communication. Finally, the program including wireless communication is implemented on the assembled snake-like robot. Then, it is confirmed that time synchronization and servo motor control are achieved by wireless communication.