Inproceedings,
Dynamics of spherical telescopic linear driven rotation robots
17th Symposium on Advanced Space Technologies in Robotics and Automation (ASTRA '23), Noordwijk, Netherlands, ESA, (October 2023)
DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2404.09230
Abstract
Lunar caves are promising features for long-term and
permanent human presence on the moon. However, given
their inaccessibility to imaging from survey
satellites, the concrete environment within the
underground cavities is not well known. Thus, to
further the efforts of human presence on the moon,
these caves are to be explored by robotic
systems. However, a set of environmental factors
make this exploration particularly
challenging. Among those are the very fine lunar
dust that damages exposed sensors and actuators and
the unknown composition of the surface and obstacles
within the cavity. One robotic system that is
particularly fit to meet these challenges is that of
a spherical robot, as the exterior shell completely
separates the sensors and actuators from the
hazardous environment. This work introduces the
mathematical description in the form of a dynamic
model of a novel locomotion approach for this form
factor that adds additional functionality. A set of
telescopic linearly extending rods moves the robot
using a combination of pushing away from the ground
and leveraging the gravitational torque. The
approach allows the system to locomote, overcome
objects by hoisting its center of gravity on top,
and transform into a terrestrial laser scanner by
using the rods as a tripod.
