Consideration of stair-climbing performance of a six-wheeled off-road vehicle 'HELIOS-V'

We are in the process of developing the "HELIOS-V", which is equipped with 4 low-pressure tires, of which the surface rubber has some cuts, on the outside and 2 high-pressure tires on the inside. This vehicle can ascend and descend stairs using the low-pressure tires, which was confirmed experimentally. It was determined that climbing performance on the stairs varied, depending on the following factors: (1) the characteristics of the tires; (2) the relationship between the position of the centre of gravity and the posture of the vehicle; and (3) the relationship between the interval of the axles and the steps. In this paper, we describe quantitatively the desirable relationships.