Four-Wheeled Hopping Robot with Attitude Control

摘要

Because a hopping robot moves long distances at minimum energy and can observe its surrounding from high points when it jumps, it is expected to explore microgravity environments effectively. Despite the importance of attitude control in such exploratory robots, few attitude control mechanisms have been proposed. This paper proposes a four-wheeled hopping robot that hops horizontally and lands without bouncing. Its wheels are applied to attitude control in the air. A simulation study and free-fall experiments verified the feasibility of the proposed mobility and the applicability of the robot.