Design of an autonomous amphibious robot for surf zone operations: part II - hardware, control implementation and simulation

A wheel-propeller-leg integrated amphibious robot with multi-modes motion is presented as a new type of robot, which can both crawl on land and swim underwater in certain depth. The performance of swimming with the mixed thrusters composed of wheel-propellers and legs shows its propulsive capability when the robot swims in water. Based on analysis of propulsive principle of the wheel-propeller and the leg, hydrodynamic characters of the mixed thrusters are calculated, and the approximate models for propulsion of the wheelpropeller and leg are obtained according to computational calculation and simulation with commercial software. Considering the feature of energy-taking by itself, the optimal distribution of propulsion based on the wheel-propeller-leg mixed thrusters with the maximal navigational distance is studied using multi-objective optimization theory. As a result, the optimized driving parameters for the mixed thrusters are achieved to bring the maximal propulsion while consuming the minimal energy. Experiments carried out in the pool prove the validity and rationality of the optimization results.

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“…The typical movement of the leg can be described as Eq. (2). Accordingly, the track of the leg in one cycle can be seen in Fig.6 (b).…”

Section: ) Legmentioning

confidence: 94%

Optimal distribution of propulsion for an amphibious robot based on wheel-propeller-leg mixed thrusters

Tang

Liu

Zhang

et al. 2010

2010 11th International Conference on Control Automation Robotics &Amp; Vision

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“…The wheel-leg robots designed by Harkins et al [53] to ensure higher running speed in the wheeled mode and superior adaptability in legged mode and switch accordingly to the different operating environments for different operation modes. Ninja legs are built to take heavy loads; a design utilizes a structure enclosing the current flipper.…”

Section: ) Biped Amphibious Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The abstract form of cockroach studies inspires the design of Wheg-II. The main characteristic of Wheg-II is that it uses a body flexion join that gives the capability of implementing cockroach functionality of bending part of the body during obstacle climbing [53]. Similar to cockroach for obstacle climbing operation, the body flexion joint of Wheg-II uses a bidirectional servo motor ascending or descending the front part of the body to reach the surface in the vertical direction and after climbing to keep contact with the surface, respectively.…”

Section: Hybrid Amphibious Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Locomotion Strategies for Amphibious Robots-A Review

et al. 2021

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In the past two decades, unmanned amphibious robots have proven the most promising and efficient systems ranging from scientific, military, and commercial applications. The applications like monitoring, surveillance, reconnaissance, and military combat operations require platforms to maneuver on challenging, complex, rugged terrains and diverse environments. The recent technological advancements and development in aquatic robotics and mobile robotics have facilitated a more agile, robust, and efficient amphibious robots maneuvering in multiple environments and various terrain profiles. Amphibious robot locomotion inspired by nature, such as amphibians, offers augmented flexibility, improved adaptability, and higher mobility over terrestrial, aquatic, and aerial mediums. In this review, amphibious robots' locomotion mechanism designed and developed previously are consolidated, systematically The review also analyzes the literature on amphibious robot highlighting the limitations, open research areas, recent key development in this research field. Further development and contributions to amphibious robot locomotion, actuation, and control can be utilized to perform specific missions in sophisticated environments, where tasks are unsafe or hardly feasible for the divers or traditional aquatic and terrestrial robots.

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“…Furthermore, the mechanical structures as well as the control algorithm of these robots are very complicated. Therefore, some other robots use improved legged structures as main driving devices, such as the simplified wheel-leg propellers of Wheg IV which is built by Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) to mimic cockroach [5]- [6], driving fins of robot turtle named Madeleine in Nekton Research [7], and the paddles and semicircular legs used by a series of legged amphibious robots developed by McGill University and its cooperative university [8]. The modified legged amphibious robots exhibit faster locomotion speed and better mobility, retaining a strong adaptability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary development of a biomimetic amphibious robot capable of multi-mode motion

Yang

Tan

et al. 2007

2007 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO)

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This paper presents the mechatronic issues of an amphibious robot capable of multi-mode motion, entirely inspired by some impressive propulsion solutions offered by the Nature. Considering that the oscillating fin utilized by fishes and cetaceans is an efficient propulsive mode under water and wheel is another formidable opponent on ground, a multi-purpose, amphibious propulsive mechanism that combines carangiform or dolphin-like swimming and wheel-like motions is designed. Based on the module-based structure, the robot is composed of a head, multiple identical propelling-units, and a flapping foil, which allows for flexible propulsion, reliable maintenance, as well as scalable fabrication. Further, an ARM-based embedded control system is designed and corresponding motion control algorithms are addressed. Preliminary experiments with the prototype finally validate the effectiveness of the multi-mobility mechanism and control.

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Design of an autonomous amphibious robot for surf zone operations: part II - hardware, control implementation and simulation

Cited by 46 publications

References 3 publications

Optimal distribution of propulsion for an amphibious robot based on wheel-propeller-leg mixed thrusters

Optimal distribution of propulsion for an amphibious robot based on wheel-propeller-leg mixed thrusters

Locomotion Strategies for Amphibious Robots-A Review

Preliminary development of a biomimetic amphibious robot capable of multi-mode motion

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