抄録
In extreme environments, such as a lunar surface or volcanic area in the earth, exploration by mobile robots instead of human is considered of value from the point of view of safety. To traverse a challenging surface, such as bumpy surface or loose soils, high locomotion ability is required for such mobile robots. Therefore, in our research group, we have developed a small-sized tracked robot, called "TrackWalker", which mounted two side sub-tracks. Each sub-track has a swing mechanism to enable simple legged locomotion for traversal on a weak a soil. In 2010, we have conducted some field tests using the tracked robot, and found advantages and weaknesses. To improve the weaknesses, we have been developing the next generation tracked robot, called "TrackWalker II". In June, 2011, we conducted a field test in Mt. Asama using the robot to confirm advantages of our locomotion mechanisms. In this paper, we report results of the field test.
