Design Considerations for an Articulated Leg-wheel Locomotion Subsystem

In this paper, we examine and evaluate candidate articulated leg-wheel subsystem designs for use in vehicle systems with enhanced uneven-terrain locomotion capabilities. The leg-wheel subsystem designs under consideration consist of disk wheels attached to the chassis through an articulated linkage containing multiple lower-pair joints. Our emphasis is on creating a design that permits the greatest motion flexibility between the chassis and wheel while maintaining the smallest degree-of-freedom (d.o.f.) within the articulated chain. In particular, we focus our attention on achieving two goals: (i) obtaining adequate ground clearance by designing the desired/feasible motions of the wheel axle, relative to the chassis, using methods from kinematic synthesis; and (ii) reducing overall actuation requirements by a judicious mix of structural equilibration design and spring assist. We examine this process in the context of two candidate designs – a coupled-serial-chain configuration and four-barconfiguration – for the articulated-leg-wheel subsystem. The performance of planar variants of these designs, operating in the sagittal plane, is evaluated and representative results are presented to highlight the process.