Jixie chuandong (Nov 2020)
Structure Design of Variable Diameter Walking Wheel based on Tensegrity Structure
Abstract
In order to overcome the obstacle surmounting ability of ordinary wheel structures on unstructured terrains and the disadvantage of moving speed of leg-type robots on structured terrains， an innovative tensegrity variable diameter walking wheel mechanism is proposed based on the advantages of adaptability， self-stability and flexible mechanism. The basic tensegrity walking unit of the variable diameter wheel is designed after the analysis of two-bar and three-cable plane tensegrity mechanism. The kinematics analysis of the tensegrity variable diameter unit is carried out by using the principle of minimum potential energy， and the parameters of the walking wheel are obtained by Matlab software. On this basis， the wheel hub structure and limited mechanism of the walking wheel are determined through the optimal principle of the stretch-reducing walking wheel and the mechanism model of the tensegrity wheel is established using Catia software. Then， the simulation model using Adams software is built and is applied to simulate the motions of the tensegrity wheel. Thus， the changed rule of the radius of the tensegrity wheel with time is obtained. The stable walking in different terrains can be realized and transformed between wheeled and walking mode by the designed tensegrity variable diameter walking wheel. The validity of the proposed method and the correctness of the theoretical model are verified.
