Rough Terrain Negotiable Mobile Platform with Passively Adaptive Double-Tracks and Its Application to Rescue Missions and EOD Missions

This paper presents design and integration of the ROBHAZ-DT3, which is a newly developed mobile robot system with chained double-track mechanisms. A passive adaptation mechanism equipped between the front and rear body enables the ROBHAZ-DT3 to have good adaptability to uneven terrains including stairs. The passive adaptation mechanism reduces energy consumption when moving on uneven terrain as well as its simplicity in design and remote control, since no actuator is necessary for adaptation. Based on this novel mobile platform, a rescue version of the ROBHAZ-DT3 with appropriate sensors and a semi-autonomous mapping and localization algorithm is developed to participate in the RoboCup2004 US-Open: Urban Search and Rescue Competition. From the various experiments in the realistic rescue arena, we can verify that the ROBHAZ-DT3 is reliable in traveling rugged terrain and the proposed mapping and localization algorithm are effective in the unstructured environment with uneven ground. The another application is an military robot for an EOD(Explosive Ordnance Disposal) and reconnaissance mission. The military version of the ROBHAZ-DT3 with a water disrupter, a thermal scope and a long distance wireless communication device is developed and sent to the area of military tactics in Iraq. Consequently, the feasibility of the military version of ROBHAZ-DT3 is verified.