MECHANICAL MODELS OF SIX-WHEELED ROCKER-BOGIE ROVERS FOR THE STUDY OF OBSTACLE OVERCOMING

The paper describes the analytical and numerical analysis carried out to study the ability in overcoming obstacles of a mobile robot based on the rocker-bogie articulated kinematic suspension. These vehicles have been used, since 1997, for space exploration on Mars. Afterwards, their use has appeared to be suitable in several cases of mobility, on rough terrain with uncertain shear and sinkage properties due to its peculiarity of being able to keep all the wheels in contact with the ground, even in the presence of strong soil discontinuities. This feature guarantees a lower risk of the wheels sinking in soft ground and a higher driving capacity of the robot. The paper refers to a mobile robot prototype, under development at the DII laboratory (University of Naples “Federico II”), consisting of low-cost components that are easily available on the market. With reference to its geometric and functional characteristics some preliminary considerations are carried out analytically and by means of numerical simulations performed through the implementation of a multibody model. Keywords:.