High-step climbing by a crawler robot DIR-2 - realization of automatic climbing motion -

We introduce a unique shaped crawler robot aimed for high-step climbing that is considered the most necessary ability in urban search and rescue operations. The crawler robot is composed of two triangular-shaped crawler devices connected by a center shaft, a straight crawler device and a two-link mechanism connecting the shaft and the straight crawler. The robot is very compact and light weight compared to other rescue robots. It has eight D.O.F. in total, four of which are for crawlers and the others are for shifting the shape of the robot. We confirmed that the proposed robot can get over 36 cm high-step one-and-a-half times as high as its original height. We also implemented a height-independent climbing motion algorithm based on statics and geometrical analysis in climbing process. Various hardware experiments showed a capability of the developed robot and feasibility of the proposed climbing motion algorithm.