Cylindabot: Transformable Wheg Robot Traversing Stepped and Sloped Environments

Woolley, Robert; Timmis, Jon; Tyrrell, Andy M.

doi:10.3390/robotics10030104

Open AccessArticle

Cylindabot: Transformable Wheg Robot Traversing Stepped and Sloped Environments

by

Robert Woolley

^1,*

,

Jon Timmis

²

and

Andy M. Tyrrell

^1,*

¹

Department of Electronic Engineering, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK

²

School of Computer Science, University of Sunderland, Sunderland SR1 3SD, UK

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Robotics 2021, 10(3), 104; https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10030104

Submission received: 31 May 2021 / Revised: 23 July 2021 / Accepted: 2 August 2021 / Published: 30 August 2021

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Abstract

The ability of an autonomous robot to adapt to different terrain affords the flexibility to move successfully in a range of environments. This paper proposes the Cylindabot, a transformable Wheg robot that can move with two large wheels, each of which can rotate out, producing three legs. This ability to change its mode of locomotion allows for specialised performance. The Cylindabot has been tested in simulation and on a physical robot on steps and slopes as an indication of its efficacy in different environments. These experiments show that such robots are capable of climbing up to a 32 degree slope and a step 1.43 times their initial height. Theoretical limits are devised that match the results, and a comparison with existing Wheg platforms is made.

Keywords: wheg; steps; slopes; mobile robots

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MDPI and ACS Style

Woolley, R.; Timmis, J.; Tyrrell, A.M. Cylindabot: Transformable Wheg Robot Traversing Stepped and Sloped Environments. Robotics 2021, 10, 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10030104

AMA Style

Woolley R, Timmis J, Tyrrell AM. Cylindabot: Transformable Wheg Robot Traversing Stepped and Sloped Environments. Robotics. 2021; 10(3):104. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10030104

Chicago/Turabian Style

Woolley, Robert, Jon Timmis, and Andy M. Tyrrell. 2021. "Cylindabot: Transformable Wheg Robot Traversing Stepped and Sloped Environments" Robotics 10, no. 3: 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10030104

APA Style

Woolley, R., Timmis, J., & Tyrrell, A. M. (2021). Cylindabot: Transformable Wheg Robot Traversing Stepped and Sloped Environments. Robotics, 10(3), 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10030104

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Cylindabot: Transformable Wheg Robot Traversing Stepped and Sloped Environments

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