Locomotion Performance of a Configurable Paddle-Wheel Robot over Dry Sandy Terrain

To access rough terrain and enhance the mobility in sandy terrain, a configurable paddle-wheel robot was proposed. This report addresses the paddle terradynamics, and the experimental verification of the locomotion performance of the robot over dry sandy terrain. To study the interactive forces between the paddle and the media, a terradynamic model is built and verified through experiments. To explore the locomotion performance, an indoor platform that allows the paddle-wheel module to move freely in both horizontal and vertical directions is created. Forward locomotion speed, height variant, and specific resistance are evaluated with different configurations. The protruding paddles have successfully reduced the slippage so as to increase the locomotion efficiency in sandy terrain. The performance of the whole robot has also been verified in outdoor sandy terrain.