Abstract
This paper proposes a concept of a center-actuated walking robot whose design is suitable for use of the parts fabricated from in-situ resources on the Moon, Mars, and other planetary bodies. The core idea of this concept is concentrating any actuator or movable components at one section of the robot body so that the rest of the body can be manufactured and assembled with limited resources and capabilities that are expected in the early stage of manufacturing away from the Earth. Justification of this concept is made from the economicalpoint of view as well as other aspects. As a walking mechanism, the proposed one consists of two rigid structures, which serve as legs, interconnected by one 6 degree-of-freedom actuator module (e.g. Gough-Stewart mechanism). It can be classified as a type of the walking mechanism with reduced degrees-of-freedom, which significantly reduces mechanical complexity, and thus makes a walking planetary rover a realistic option. Simulation results proved that a tetrapod based on the proposed concept can employ both static and dynamic gaits, such as static walk, trot, and pace. Potential of the concept, for example, reusability as man-made in-situ resources, is explored and future research topics are identified. Designers of space robots near future would be required to take advantage of in-situ resources. The work presented here is aimed at pioneering the robot design in the era of extraterrestrial resources.
