Multi-objective optimization design for the wheel-propeller-leg driving mechanism of an amphibious robot

The wheel-propeller-leg integrated amphibious robot is presented as a new type of robot, which can crawl on land and swim underwater in certain depth or creep on ocean floor. The multi-locomotion modes and compound mobile mechanism are the main traits of the amphibious robot. The motion principle of the wheel-propeller-leg integrated driving mechanism is analyzed, and the multi-objective optimization theory and algorithm are adopted to comprehensively optimize the driving performance of both crawl and swim. As a result, the optimized parameters of the driving mechanism are obtained. Simulation results from the virtual prototype prove that the wheel-propeller-leg integrated driving mechanism is endowed with good performance in the comprehensive locomotion and enables the amphibious robot to be adaptive to unstructured environment to a certain extent.