Abstract
In the future, the planetary exploration missions, planetary robots are required to traverse over very rough terrain. On the lunar surface and Mars surface, there are covered with loose soil, namely "Regolith". The reason why the wheel is easy to occur the poor condition during traverse on loose soil is not yet clear in detail. We use Terramechanics model for analyzing the mechanism of slipping and sinking behavior. Terramechanics model which is widely used as locomotion model for some lunar rovers is applicable to only circular wheel. So, it is not easy to apply to wheel with lugs. Therefore, firstly, we simulated the conventional model to confirm the deference between the wheel without lugs and with lugs. Secondly, we carried out the running experiments using the rigid circular wheel (with and without lugs) to compare with simulation. Then, we got some interesting understanding from results of simulation and experiments.
