Passive reconfigurable limb-link for mobile field robotics

This paper introduces a reconfigurable limb-link system for mobile field robotics. The research is intended to assist a set of modular wheels designed to render any object mobile, dubbed NeWheel. One application for the wheel was to inspect and map decrepit buildings which are unsafe for humans to enter. The limb design ensures the robot can reconfigure its footprint whilst on mission, enabling it to manoeuvre through narrow passageways or over holes and obstacles. The NeWheel is a fully actuated system, allowing the limb to be underactuated and consists of a sensor and locking mechanism for each degree of freedom: prismatic and revolute. The limb is passively reconfigured, driven by the corresponding NeWheel. It is a standalone unit and has its own microcontroller, which, in its current iteration, has the hardware capability of controlling up to four limbs on a single robot at once. The limb senses its length and angle relative to the baseplate and can be locked in a continuous amount of positions within the prismatic and revolute ranges. This research impacts modular robot design as well as opens up a multitude of future control options. Key aspects of the project have been cost effectiveness and overall mission energy efficiency.