Abstract
This paper describes about the tension control mechanism of the variable geometry tracked vehicle (VGTV) for the purpose of the disaster response robot. The VGTV is suited for the traversing on rough terrain owing to the transformable track shape depending on a terrain variation. The tension control mechanism by using the U type spring is proposed for VGTV in this study. The tension of the belt will be controlled because that the rotation of arm deforms the U type spring. We mentioned the design method for the tension control mechanism. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism.
