Maneuverability of Mobile Robot Driven by Archimedean Screw Units on Sand

摘要

A prediction of mobility performance on rough terrain is one of the essential techniques for lunar and planetary exploration rovers to ensure secure locomotion in soft sand. To enhance trafficability in sand, the authors have considered a novel rover driven by Archimedean screw-type devices. Compared with conventional wheeled rovers, the proposed rover is valid for traveling on sand since it can propel the rover even if the screw devices are buried into sand. Furthermore, the rover is expected to reduce a risk of getting stuck into the soft sand. However, trafficability and maneuverability of such screw devices on sand are less well understood. An attempt to elaborate these capabilities has been also limited until now. From the point of view, this paper focuses on the maneuverability of the developed rover. In particular, a systematic classification is experimentally elaborated based on maneuvering trajectories demonstrated by the prototyped rover. According to the experimental results, multimodal maneuvering trajectories can be seen by varying rotation conditions of the two screw devices. In addition to these results, feasible estimates of generated rotational and translational efforts of the rover are discussed toward locomotion control.