GAIT PLANNING AND SIMULATION OF OBSTACLE NEGOTIATION FOR AN AMPHIBIOUS ROBOT

摘要

A wheel-propeller-leg integrated amphibious robot is presented as a new type of robot, which can both crawl on land and swim underwater in certain depth or creep on ocean floor. The obstacle negotiation capability shows its adaptability for unstructured environment when the robot crawls on land. Based on the analysis of the motion principle and the kinematic model of the compound-mobile mechanism, new types of obstacle negotiation gaits are developed dealing with different kinds of obstacle, and the strategies for obstacle negotiation gait planning are given respectively. The simulation researches on obstacle negotiation kinematics are carried out by using the virtual prototype of the robot in ADAMS (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems). The simulation results prove that the wheel-propeller-leg integrated amphibious robot be endowed with good performance in both stability of obstacle negotiation and adaptability for complex terrain, according to the obstacle negotiation gait planning.