DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF STEPS CLIMBING

ROCKER-BOGIE
A MAIN PROJECT REPORT
Submitted to
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, KAKINADA

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the under graduate degree of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Submitted by

ATLURI DINESH (14X41A0303) ANSER BAIG (14X41A0318)

CH.V.SAI PRADEEP REDDY (14X41A0334) CH.SRIDHAR (15X45A0303)

Under the esteemed guidance of

G.DURGA PRASAD, M.TECH

Assistant Professor

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SRK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Approved by AICTE
(Affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada)
An ISO 90001:2008 Certified Institution
NH 5, Opposite Pratap Industries, Enikepadu, Vijayawada, A.P - 521108
2017-2018
 SRK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled “DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
OF STEPS CLIMBING ROCKER-BOGIE MECHANISM” being submitted by

ATLURI DINESH (14X41A0303) ANSER BAIG (14X41A0318)

CH.V.SAI PRADEEP REDDY (14X41A0334) CH.SRIDHAR (15X45A0303)

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Degree of Bachelor of

Technology in MECHANICAL ENGINEERING to the SRK INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY affiliated to JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL
UNIVERSITY, KAKINADA is a record of bonafide work carried out by them under
our guidance and supervision during the academic year 2017-18

PROJECT GUIDE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

(G. DURGA PRASAD, M.Tech) (Dr.DANAIAH DANIEL PULI)

EXTERNAL EXAMINER

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 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATES

We hereby certify that the work which is being presented in this Project report
entitled ‘DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION OF STEPS CLIMBING ROCKER-BOGIE‘in
partial fulfillment of requirements for the award of degree of BACHELOR OF
TECHNOLOGY in MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, submitted to the Dept. of
Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engg. & Technology, S.R.K Institute of
Technology, Enikepadu, Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) is an authentic record of our
own work carried out during a period from December 2017 to March 2018 under the
supervision of G.Durga Prasad M.Tech.
The matter presented in this project work has not been submitted to any other
University / Institute for the award of B.Tech or any other Degree / Diploma.

Name Roll. No. Signature

1. ATLURI DINESH (14X41A0303)

2. ANSER BAIG (14X41A0318)

3. CH.V.SAI PRADEEP REDDY (14X41A0334)

4. CHALLA SRIDHAR (15X45A0303)

Date

Signature of supervisor

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are highly grateful to the Hon’ble Chairman Sri.B.S APPA RAO, S.R.K Institute
Of Technology, Enikepadu, Vijayawada for providing us this opportunity to carry out
the present project work.

We would like to express a deep sense of gratitude and thanks profusely to our
Principal, Dr.M.EkKAMBARAM, S.R.K Institute Of Technology, Enikepadu,
Vijayawada. Without his able guidance, it would have been impossible to complete the
project in this manner.

The constant guidance and encouragement received from Dr.DANAIAH DANIEL

PULI, Head of the Mechanical engineering department, S.R.K Institute Of Technology,
Enikepadu, Vijayawada has been of great help in carrying out the present work and is
acknowledged with reverential thanks.

The help rendered by G.DURGA PRASAD M.Tech, Asst. Prof., Project Supervisor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, S.R.K Institute Of Technology, Enikepadu,
Vijayawada for his wise counsel is greatly acknowledged.

We also express our gratitude to other faculty members of Dept. of Mechanical

Engineering, S.R.K Institute Of Technology, Enikepadu, Vijayawada for their
intellectual support throughout the course of this work.

Finally, we are indebted to all whosoever have contributed in this project work.

Project Associates…..
Name Roll. No. Signature

1. ATLURI DINESH (14X41A0303)

2. ANSER BAIG (14X41A0318)

3. CH.V.SAI PRADEEP REDDY (14X41A0334)

4. CHALLA SRIDHAR (15X45A0303)

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 ABSTRACT

The Rocker-bogie suspension mechanism it is currently NASA’s favored design for

wheeled mobile robots, mainly because it has robust capabilities to deal with
obstacles and because it uniformly distributes the payload over its 6 wheels at all
times. Even though it has many advantages when dealing with obstacles, there is one
major shortcoming which is its low average speed of operation, making the rocker-
bogie system not suitable for situations where high-speed traversal over hard-flat
surfaces is needed to cover large areas in short periods of time, mainly due to stability
problems.

Our propose is to design and construct a DYNAMIC STEP CLIMBING

ROCKER BOGIE MECHANISM and increase the stability of the rocker-bogie
system by expanding its support polygon, making it more stable and adaptable while
moving at good speed, but keeping its original robustness against obstacles.

Transporting heavy packages while climbing stairs can be a very difficult. So, we
propose a step climbing rover based on the rocker-bogie mechanism. The
Rocker-Bogie Mobility system was designed to be used at slow speeds. It is capable of
overcoming obstacles that are on the order of the size of a wheel. Our concern during
the development of the rocker bogie will be to optimize the speed and CLIMB THE
STEPS on its own and be able to transport material such that the rover do not flip and
may travel a little faster too (20cm/s) and make it cost effective with maximum possible
rigidity and ruggedness. The rocker-bogie suspension system is good at dealing with
obstacles and excellent traversability.

We developed a method of driving a rocker-bogie vehicle so that it can effectively

step over most obstacles rather than impacting and climbing over them. Some
mechanical changes are suggested to gather the maximum benefit and to greatly
increase the stability of the Rocker-Bogie.

KEYWORDS: Rocker bogie mechanism; optimal design; PVC pipes, Steps climbing.

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 CONTENTS

CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 1-6

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 NEED AND MOTIVATION FOR THE SELECTION OF THE PROJECT

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

1.4 WORKING PRINCIPLE

1.5 ADVANTAGES

1.6 APPLICATIONS

CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................7-16

2.1INTRODUCTION

2.2 EXISTING LITERATURE AND ROCKER-BOGIE MODELLING

2.3 GAP IDENTIFICATION FROM LITERATURE

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CHAPER-3 PAST PRESENT & FUTURE ......................................................... 17-23

3.1 INTRODUCTION

3.2 RECENT ROVERS AND THEIR MISSIONS

3.3 ROVER MOBILITY

CHAPTER-4 RELATED CONCEPTS AND THEORY ..........................................24-38

4.1 DESIGN REQUIRMENTS & SPECIFICATIONS

4.2 RELATED CONCEPTS

4.2.1 Traction and slip

4.2.2 Lateral Stability

4.2.3 Longitudinal Stability

4.2.4 Static stability factor

4.3 STUDY OF WHEELED ROCKER BOGIE MECHANISM

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 4.3.1 Suspension

4.3.2 Obstacle capacity

4.3.3 Wheel Motion

4.4 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

4.4.1 Mobility

4.4.2 Wheel design

4.4.3 Driver motor selection

4.4.4 Power supply

4.4.5 Control

CHAPETER-5 CALCULATIONS ........................................................................39-45

5.1 DIAMETER OF THE WHEEL

5.2 CALCULATION OF WHEEL BASE

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 5.3 LENGTH OF THE LINKS

5.4 HEIGHT CALCULATIONS

5.5 TRACK WIDTH

CHAPTER-6 FABRICATION ...........................................................................46-56

6.1 POWER SUPPLY

6.2 LINKAGES

6.3 MOTORS

6.4 CABLES

6.5 CONTROLLER

6.5.1 Wireless controller

6.5.2 Wired controller

6.6 ASSEMBLY

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CHAPTER-7 CONCLUSIONS .........................................................................57-58

7.1CONCLUSION

7.2 BUDGET AND TABLE OF REQUIREMENTS

7.3 FUTURE SCOPE

CHAPTER-8 RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................... 58-59

8.1 OVER TURN PROBLEM

CHAPTER-9 BIBLIYOGRAPHY .......................................................................60-65

9.1 REFERENCES

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 CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Over the last decade, mobile robots have been widely used to carry out manifold
tasks such as military, industrial applications, planetary exploration rescue operation
and home/medical services. Therefore, it is not surprising that high mobility on
various environments has been a primary factor among others when evaluating the
performance of the mobile robot. There is an increasing need for mobile robots which
are able to operate in unstructured environments with highly uneven terrain. These
robots are mainly used for tasks which humans cannot do and which are hazardous. In
order to achieve these tasks, any mobile robot needs to have a suitable mobile system
according to each situation.

According to a locomotive mechanism to achieve the desired mobility, mobile

robots may be split into following categories: leg-type, track-type and wheel-type
mobile robots. While the leg-type mobile robot ensures the most superior adaptability
to all kinds of environments, its mechanism is quite complicated because active
control algorithms equipped with additional actuators and sensors are required to
steadily maintain its balance, which inevitably leads to slow movement and poor
energy efficiency. The track-type mobile robot provides acceptable mobility on an
off-road environment by virtue of its inherently stable mechanism but excessive
friction loss during changing a direction also results in poor energy efficiency.
Compared to other alternatives, the wheel-type mobile robot can be constructed in the
simplest configuration so that fast movements as well as good energy efficiency are
guaranteed without any complicated control strategy. However, its adaptability to an
environment does not seem to be sufficiently good and its mobility is restricted
depending on both the type and the size of encountered obstacle.

Recently, hybrid-type mobile robots have been suggested in various configurations by

combining two locomotive mechanisms together. However, their mechanisms still
seem to be complicated in comparison with the wheel-type one and from the
viewpoint of control, the cooperation between locomotion mechanisms emerges as
another important issue. On the other hand, several wheel-type locomotive

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mechanisms equipped with passive linkages have successfully verified their mobile
performances in real applications, for example, Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) like
Sojourner, Rocky7, Spirit and Opportunity , ORF-L , CEDRA , SHRIMP , etc.
Among those passive linkages, the rocker-bogie is well known, which consists of two
structural elements called as “rocker” and “bogie”.

Among these mobile systems, it’s the ROCKER-BOGIE suspension system that
was first used for the Mars Rover Sojourner and it’s currently NASA’s favored design
for rover wheel suspension. The rocker-bogie suspension is a mechanism that enables
a six-wheeled vehicle to passively keep all six wheels in contact with a surface even
when driving on severely uneven terrain.

There are two key advantages to this feature. The first advantage is that the wheels'
pressure on the ground will be equilibrated. This is extremely important in soft terrain
where excessive ground pressure can result in the vehicle sinking into the driving
surface. The second advantage is that while climbing over hard, uneven terrain, all six
wheels will nominally remain in contact with the surface and under load, helping to
propel the vehicle over the terrain. Exploration rovers take advantage of this
configuration by integrating each wheel with a drive actuator, maximizing the
vehicle's motive force capability. One of the major shortcomings of current rocker-
bogie rovers is that they are slow. In order to be able to overcome significantly rough
terrain (i.e., obstacles more than a few percent of wheel radius) without significant
risk of flipping the vehicle or damaging the suspension, these robots move slowly and
climb over the obstacles by having wheels lift each piece of the suspension over the
obstacle one portion at a time.

1.2 NEED AND MOTIVATION FOR THE SELECTION OF THE PROJECT

Rocker-bogie suspension system was first used for the Mars Rover Sojourner and
it’s currently NASA’s favored design for rover wheel suspension. This is a very less
explored field of study and could be developed into exploration purpose instrument.
The need to develop specialized high-fidelity systems capable of operating in harsh
earth environments typically leads to longer development timelines and greater
expenditures. While specific applications will always require unique designs, there are
many similarities in planetary rovers. Issues such as mobility, navigation, and vision,
may differ slightly between missions but are largely the same in most scenarios. There

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are currently many mobile research platforms available, yet few are designed to
operate in the harsh earth environments that are often used for planetary surface rover
testing. By creating a rover that is suitable for these types of environments, our goal is
to facilitate the development of rovers and their related technologies, in addition to
lowering development costs. We also hope that the platform developed can be tested
and improved upon, to potentially serve as a model for a rover that could go to the
moon or Mars in the future and MAKE IT’S IMPACT IN THE CIVIL SERVICE
APPLICATIONS.

Our mission is to design, develop, and test a rover to serve as a research platform,
suitable for testing planetary surface exploration technologies in harsh earth
environments. The design will focus on incorporating features that are believed to be
essential for most planetary exploration missions. The Rocker bogie Suspension
system can be sent for reconnaissance purpose, which is exploring the surrounding to
give a visualization to a person or operator sitting somewhere for carrying the
operation, by the help of a video camera. Hence, due to this feature of the rocker
bogie suspension system this can be used in military for visualizing the scenario at a
region where a bomb is planted.

Not only this, the rocker bogie suspension system can be developed into a wheel
chair too to take the patients from one place to another climbing the stairs on its own.
It can also be used for material delivery purposes. As explained this is a wide field of
study and very less explored. So this gave the motivation for the development of this
suspension system.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

We will be focusing on eliminating the shortcomings of the rover. One of the

major shortcomings of current rocker-bogie rovers is that they are slow. In order to be
able to overcome significantly rough terrain without significant risk of flipping the
vehicle or damaging the suspension, these robots move slowly and climb over the
obstacles by having wheels lift each piece of the suspension over the obstacle one
portion at a time. While performance on rough terrain obstacles is important, it should
be also considered situations where the surface is flat or it has almost imperceptible
obstacles, where the rover should increase its speed to displace faster from one point
to another point. The rovers made for the exploration purposes are very costly too.

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Due to the high cost of space exploration, most missions to date have been conducted
by NASA and other government-supported organizations. However, the continually
decreasing cost of technology and economic potential in natural resources has led
some private companies to pursue space transportation and exploration as a core
business. For example, Astrobotic Technology, Odyssey Moon, and Armadillo
Aerospace are just a few companies that are developing rovers and Landers for
different space missions. While companies like these have made progress in the
commercialization of space exploration, the inherently high costs continue to hinder
economic feasibility.

We, in India have not conducted any mission for the exploration purposes. Not
only mars exploration the rocker bogie can also be used for military and civil
purposes but there also it is needed to be a little cost effective and fast. Thus our
concern during the development of the rover would be to optimize the speed such that
the rover do not flip and may travel a little faster too and make it cost effective with
maximum possible rigidity and ruggedness. In order to improve the climbing
capability of a wheel-type Rocker-Bogie rover especially against structured terrains
such as steps and stairs, several mechanisms have been developed on the basis of the
rocker-bogie so that a few mobile robots can climb even steps of twice their wheel
diameter.

However, they often suffer from undesired phenomenon that some wheels float
from the ground while climbing steps and stairs, which may cause instability of the
mobile robot. So the main aim of our project is, Based on the rocker-bogie
mechanism, an optimal design of a stair-climbing wheel-type mobile rover is to be
constructed. It can also be used for MATERIAL DELIVERY purposes. This is a
wide field of study and is very less explored. So this gave us the motivation for the
development of this rocker bogie suspension system in a cost effective manner.

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Fig.1.1 Projected 3-d view of our project

1.4 WORKING PRINCIPLE

The rover consists of several joints. By adjusting its joints the rover is capable of
locomotion over various uneven terrains. The rocker bogie structure has six
independently driven wheels which are mounted on an articulated passive suspension
system. The four corner wheels are steerable. The suspension system consists of two
rocker arms connected to the rover body. Each rocker has a rear wheel connected to
one end and a bogie connected to the other end. The bogie is connected to the rocker
with a free pivoting joint. At each end of the bogie there is a drive wheel. The rockers
are connected to the rover body with the differential joint.

Fig.1.2 Outline of Rocker-Bogie

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  In order to go over an obstacle the front wheels are forced against the obstacle
by the rear wheels. The rotation of the front wheel the lift the front of the vehicle
up and over the obstacle.
 The middle wheel is pressed against the obstacle by the rear wheel and pulled
against the obstacle by the front, until it is lifted up and over.
 Finally, the rear wheel is pulled over the obstacle by the front two wheels.
During each wheel traversal of the obstacle, forward progress of the vehicle
slowed or completely halted.

1.5 ADVANTAGES

One of the most important and useful feature of autonomous mobile robots is their
ability to adopt themselves to operate in unstructured environment.

 The mechanism allows climbing obstacles twice the size of the wheel diameter.
 Does not employ springs and sub axles.
 Equal distribution of load on all wheels.
 The design is simple and reliable.
 Independent movement of rocker on either side of the bogie.
 The front and back wheels have individual drives for climbing.

1.6 APPLICATIONS

Mobile rovers had a wide range of applications, some of them are

 By the development of a bigger model it can be used for transporting man and
material through a rough terrain or obstacles containing regions like stairs.
 We could develop it into a Wheel Chair too. It can be sent to valleys, jungles
or such places where humans may face some danger.
 Military purposes
 Mining
 Bomb Inspections
 Mobile robots in artificial Intelligence.

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 CHAPTER-2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Mankind has long sought improved methods of land transport. Over the centuries,
these land locomotion methods have included travelling on foot, riding on the backs
of horses or other animals, using carts and wagons drawn by both humans and
animals and using a variety of vehicles powered by steam, internal combustion, or
other engines. With the advent of automation and robots in 20th century, a new level
of sophistication has been added to these methods, namely, the development of
automated vehicles, or mobile robots, which can be sent to perform these tasks with
little or no human intervention.

In recent years, practical mobile rovers have been successfully used in controlled
environments such as factories, offices, and hospitals, as well as outdoors on prepared
surfaces and terrain with minor irregularities. However, thus far, the operation of
mobile robots in extremely rough, uneven terrain has been impossible or unreliable at
best. Nevertheless, many benefits would result if robotic mobility “in the field” were
made practical (Whittaker, 1993).

Hence, the study of field robotics has become an active area of research. Several
previous publications ,including papers by McGhee(1985), Fitcher and
Albright(1987), Bares and Whittaker(1989), and Oral (1994) have noted that
approximately 50% of the earth’s total land surface is inaccessible to wheeled or
tracked vehicles, but that in contrast, most animals can cross rough terrain in an
efficient and fairly rapid fashion.

Thus, it is desirable to create legged mechanisms that will imitate the excellent
mobility of animals. Reliable mobility on extremely uneven terrain remains an elusive
goal for man-made devices.

2.2 EXISTING LITERATURE ON ROCKER-BOGIE MODELLING

In year 1995 Shigeo Hirose et al. [1] outlined the fundamental considerations for a
planetary rover. They compared the wheeled, legged and articulated body shapes, and
it was found that the wheel type is currently the optimum for a planetary rover. Next

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they studied specific methods for configuring a planetary rover with one, two, three
and four wheels.

In year 1996 Yangsheng Xu et al. [2] proposed the concept of mobile

manipulator by the cooperation of a wheeled rover and a detachable manipulator
called the Dual- Use Mobile Detachable Manipulator, or (DM)2 , for early
construction and maintenance tasks in lunar stations. This system provides better
flexibility of manipulation and exploration tasks such as collecting soil samples,
surveying the lunar surface.

Pedersen et al. [3] at NASA have done a survey on space robotics and determine
the state-of-the-art and future scenario in space robotics. They described the various
issues like human-robot collaboration, planetary surface access, and surface
investigation in the field of space robotics.

Yasutaka et al. [4] at Carnegie Mellon University discussed the configuration of

robotic locomotion for the moon, and describe analysis and experimental results
obtained through testing of a physical prototype. To achieve substantial climbing
capability and mitigate body excursions they selected a six-wheeled configuration that
utilizes pivot arm linkages for body suspension.

Miller and Lee [5] at NASA described a method of driving a rocker-bogie vehicle
that can effectively step over most obstacles rather than impacting and climbing over
them. They suggested some mechanical changes to gather the maximum benefit and
to greatly increase the effective operational speed of future rovers. Most of the
benefits of this method can be achieved without any mechanical modification to
existing designs but a change in control strategy.

In year 2002 Yoshida and Hamano [6] investigated kinetic behavior of a planetary
rover with attention to tire-soil traction mechanics and articulated body dynamics, and
thereby studies the control when the rover travels over natural rough terrain. They
carried out experiments with a rover test bed using the tire slip ratio as a state variable
to observe the physical phenomena of soils and to model the traction mechanics.

In year 2004 Lamon et al. [7] described quasi-static modeling considering the
system constraints: maximal and minimal torques, positive normal forces of a six-
wheeled robot with a passive suspension mechanism together with a method for

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selecting the optimal torques. The method is used to limit wheel slip and to improve
climbing capabilities.

In year 2005 Tarokh and Dermott [8] described a general approach to the
kinematics modeling and analyses of articulated rovers traversing uneven terrain for
6-DOF motion. Differential kinematics is derived for the individual wheel motions in
contact with the terrain and then combined to form the composite equation for the
rover motion. Three types of kinematics navigation, actuation, and slip kinematics are
identified, and the equations and application of each are discussed.

In year 2005 Mann and Shiller [9] described the stability considering both static
equilibrium and dynamic effects of a Rocker Bogie vehicle that accounts for the
tendency to slide, tip over, or lose contact with the ground. The measure of stability is
computed by solving for the range of acceptable velocities and accelerations that
satisfy a set of dynamic constraints and the maximum acceptable velocity serves as a
dynamic stability measure, whereas the maximum acceptable acceleration at zero
velocity serves as a static stability measure.

In year 2005 Lindemann [10] described the Mars exploration rovers named Spirit
and Opportunity which were landed on the mars surface in January 2004. In order to
assess the mobility characteristics of the rovers in the Mars environment, an
engineering model vehicle was tested before the mission launches in a representative
environment of slopes, rock obstacles, and soft soil. In addition, to gain better insight
into the rovers' capabilities, a dynamic model of the rovers was created in the software
package ADAMS. The rover model was then used to simulate many of the test cases,
which provided a means for model correction and correlation.

In year 2006 Randel et al. [11] described the Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Project launched in mid-2000 to land on the Mars, and discussed the mission
requirements, design architecture, mechanical mobility, hardware design,
development and testing.

In year 2006 Thianwiboon and Sangveraphunsiri [12] proposed a method for

kinematics modeling of a six-wheel Rocker Bogie mobile robot. The forward
kinematics is derived by using wheel Jacobian matrices in conjunction with wheel-
ground contact angle estimation. The inverse kinematics is to obtain the wheel

Page | XIX
velocities and steering angles from the desired forward velocity and turning rate of the
robot. By comparing information from onboard sensors and wheel velocities traction
control is also developed to improve traction to minimize wheel slip. Simulation is
done with a rover has rocker bogie in two conditions of surfaces including climbing
slope and travel over a ditch.

In year 2006 Xinyi Yu et al. [13] analyzed the motion of articulated lunar rover
with six cylinder-conical wheels and force acting to wheels, according to the
mechanical configuration of rover, operations pattern of wheel, and principle of speed
matching of wheels they presented a control algorithm which can fit various uneven
terrains and merge it into the whole locomotion control system.

In year 2007 Deng et al. [14] discussed the optimum control model of the motion,
they done motion control of a lunar rover, the power optimum control was carried out
for a lunar rover prototype with six cylinder-conical wheels in wheel walking motion
mode in order to minimize the power consumption. The kinematics model of wheel-
walking motion was built up and the simulation model was constituted based on
Simulink.

In year 2007 Bai-chao et. al. [15] analyzed the structure of the new suspension and
the kinematics of the levers, and to know the distortion capability of the suspension,
relational equations of the suspension levers are established. In order to test the
capability of suspension, they design a prototype rover with the new suspension and
take a test of climbing obstacles, and the prototype rover with new type of suspension
had excellent capability to climb .up obstacles with keeping cab smooth in the results.

In year 2007 Kanfeng et. al. [16] analyzed the external disturbances cause the
lunar rover's unexpected move because rover may run on the uneven surface of the
moon. They investigate the effects of external disturbance. The six wheeled- rocker-
bogie lunar rover is considered as a six-wheeled vehicle with four steering wheels and
the steering dynamic equation is built based on automotive theory. External
disturbance is expressed as a force acted on the mass center of the rover and the
Laplace transform is introduced. The research results show that the travel changes of
the rovers will be different distinctly when the rovers with different steering
characteristics are disturbed simultaneously.

Page | XX
 In year 2007 Thueer et al. [17] presented the performance optimization tool
(POT). The POT enables the comparison and optimization of a rover chassis in a
quick and efficient way. The tool is based on a static approach including optimization
of the wheel torques in order to maximize traction. Tests with real hardware were
performed to validate the POT. Two different rovers, CRAB and RCL-E, were
assessed in simulation and hardware with respect to specific, well defined metrics. In
simulation, their performances were compared to the rocker-bogie-type rover MER.

In year 2007 Thueer et al. [18] Conducted a study of locomotion performance of

different suspension types in order to find the rover that matches best any given
mission requirements. A number of metrics were defined which precisely specify
what qualifies as good or bad performance. These results were used to characterize
the performance of each rover and put it in relation to the weighted mission
requirements. This study has shown that a four wheeled rover can be a valuable
alternative to the rocker bogie but only in very specific missions.

In 2008 Thueer and Siegwart [19] analyzed three different rovers from a
kinematic point of view. The optimal velocities at the actual position were calculated
for all wheels based on a kinematic model and used for characterization of the
suspension of the different rovers. Simulation results show significant differences
between the rovers and thus, the utility of the chosen metric. It is found that by
integrating kinematics in a model-based velocity controller a substantial reduction of
slip can be achieved.

In year 2008 Yuan et al. [20] presented a wheel-ground contact angle and slip
estimation scheme for skid-steered lunar rover by combining drive and guidance
system to form a closed control system, in which an observer will work out the slip
values and wheel-terrain contact angle by using the measured datum of passed route
of lunar rover's mass center. Simulation and experiment results show that the terrain
and control parameters algorithms can accurately and efficiently be identified for
loose sand.

In year 2008 Younse et al. [21] at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory used the Mars
technology rover Sample Return Rover 2000 (SRR2K) for their experiment. They
presented the Mars sample return missions technology to robotically acquire and
cache multiple samples for delivery back to Earth. To prevent cross-contamination,

Page | XXI
individual detachable scoops and caching boxes were designed for use with a rover.
They used a robotic arm on the rover to open and close the cache boxes. A clamping
mechanism designed for the end effecter of the robotic arm attached and detached
individual scoops and performed the scooping for sample collection.

In year 2008 Pathak et al. [22] presented the bond graph model of an autonomous
vehicle, called RobuCar, with four independently driven wheels and two
independently adjustable steering angles. The system bond graph is constructed for
generating the Analytical Redundancy Relations (ARRs) which are evaluated with
actual measurements to generate residuals and to perform structural fault isolation.
The system is reconfigured to achieve given control objectives.

In year 2008 Suojun et al. [23] build the mobility performance indexes .based on
work conditions by summarizing the lunar surface terrain characteristics. The
performance of overturning stability, load equalization of the wheels and trafficability
are analyzed and established an optimization mathematical model of suspension
parameters of rocker-bogie rover.

In 2009 Yongming et al. [24] presented a model based on force analysis of the
differential joints and force analysis between the wheels and the ground; they
established the quasi-static mathematical model of the 6-wheel mobile system of
planetary exploration rover with rocker-bogie structure. Using the method of finding
the wheels friction force solution space feasible region, obstacle-climbing capability
of the mobile mechanism was analyzed by considering the constraint conditions. The
simulation is done by giving the same obstacle heights and contact angles of wheel-
ground.

Iagnemma and Dubowsky [25] at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

addressed a rough-terrain control (RTC) methodology that exploits the actuator
redundancy found in multi-wheeled mobile robot systems to improve ground traction
and reduce power consumption. A key element of the method is to be able to estimate
the wheel ground contact angles and an optimization criterion based on the local
terrain profile is used. Kalman filter method is presented for estimating these angles
using simple onboard sensors.

Page | XXII
 Hacot [26] at Massachusetts Institute of Technology presented the models of
mechanics and method for solving the inverse kinematics of the rocker-bogie rover.
The quasi-static force analysis was described for the rover. The simulation of the
rover was done and compared with experimental results.

According to Mr. Hrishikesh V Deo [27], the design of existing suspension

systems typically involves a compromise solution for the conflicting requirements of
comfort and handling. For instance, cars need a soft suspension for better comfort,
whereas a stiff suspension leads to better handling. Cars need high ground clearance
on rough terrain, whereas a low center of gravity (CG) height is desired for swift
cornering and dynamic stability at high speeds. It is advantageous to have low
damping for low force transmission to vehicle frame, whereas high damping is
desired for fast decay of oscillations.

Nitin Yadav at. Al .[28],The place, where the value of gravity remain lower than
earth’s own gravitational coefficient, at that place the existing suspension system fails
to fullfil desired results as the amount and mode of shock absorbing changes. To
counter anti gravity impact, NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory have jointly
developed a suspension system called the rocker-bogie Suspension system. It is
basically a suspension arrangement used in mechanical robotic vehicles used
specifically for space exploration. The rocker-bogie suspension based rovers has been
successfully introduced for the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) missions conducted by apex space exploration
agencies throughout the world. The proposed suspension system is currently the most
favored design for every space exploration company indulges in the business of space
research. The motive of this research initiation is to understand mechanical design and
its advantages of Rocker- bogie suspension system in order to find suitability to
implement it in conventional loading vehicles to enhance their efficiency and also to
cut down the maintenance related expenses of conventional suspension systems.

Dongkyu Choi at.al [29], To verify whether the rocker bogie, with certain lengths
of the linkages and radii of the wheels, could climb up a target stair or not, a
kinematic analysis and its posture are determined. The trace of the center of mass of
the rocker bogie was considered and the situation that three wheels contact the front

Page | XXIII
side of the stair is analyzed. With this two analyses, the stair climb ability graph
(SCG) determined with the length and the height of a stair was drawn.

Hong-an Yang at.al [30], The rocker-bogie suspension mechanism it’s currently
NASA’s favored design for wheeled mobile robots, mainly because it has robust
capabilities to deal with obstacles and because it uniformly distributes the payload
over its 6 wheels at all times. Even though it has many advantages when dealing with
obstacles, there is one major shortcoming which is its low average speed of operation,
making the rocker-bogie system not suitable for situations where high-speed traversal
over hard-flat surfaces is needed to cover large areas in short periods of time, mainly
due to stability problems. This paper proposes to increase the stability of the rocker-
bogie system by expanding its support polygon, making it more stable and adaptable
while moving at high speed, but keeping its original robustness against obstacles: One
rocker-bogie system, two modes of operation.

Brian D. Harrington and Chris Voorhees [31], over the past decade, the rocker-
bogie suspension design has become a proven mobility application known for its
superior vehicle stability and obstacle-climbing capability. Following several
technology and research rover implementations, the system was successfully flown as
part of Mars Pathfinder’s Sojourner rover. When the Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Project was first proposed, the use of a rocker-bogie suspension was the obvious
choice due to its extensive heritage. The challenge posed by MER was to design a
lightweight rocker-bogie suspension that would permit the mobility to stow within the
limited space available and deploy into a configuration that the rover could then
safely use to egress from the lander and explore the Martian surface. This paper will
describe how the MER rocker-bogie suspension subsystem was able to meet these
conflicting design requirements while highlighting the variety of deployment and
latch mechanisms employed in the design.

According to Mr. Hrishikesh V Deo [32], the design of existing suspension

systems typically involves a compromise solution for the conflicting requirements of
comfort and handling. For instance, cars need a soft suspension for better comfort,
whereas a stiff suspension leads to better handling. Cars need high ground clearance
on rough terrain, whereas a low center of gravity (CG) height is desired for swift
cornering and dynamic stability at high speeds. It is advantageous to have low

Page | XXIV
damping for low force transmission to vehicle frame, whereas high damping is
desired for fast decay of oscillations.

S. Madhavarao [33], in his paper discussed that vehicle ride comfort is one of the
most important performances of vehicle; the research of automotive ride comfort is
getting more and more important. He said this paper is to design and develop a system
that is “Automatic ground clearance adjustment system” to overcome this problem by
adjusting the ground clearance over this particular time period.

Paul W.Bartlett [34], designed a scarab rover for mobility and drilling in the lunar
cold traps. The vehicle design employs a passive kinematic suspension with an active
adjustability to lower for drilling and aid in driving. He explained that Scarab was
designed and built in 2007 and is currently in lab and field testing and further
development. In the laboratory, drawbar pull tests characterized the strength and
traction of the rover. With the rubber skid loader tires in place, Scarab pulled 2,000 N
in mixed grain sized sand, which is approximately 0.7 x vehicle weight, and 2,700 N
on concrete pavement, which is approximately equal to vehicle weight. Similar tests
are planned where lunar gravity is simulated with an off-loading system.

Wesley B.Williams[35], was successful in designing, building, testing, and

implementing a rocker bogie suspension on a competitive robot in the 2013-2014
NASA Robotic Mining Competition. The design portion progressed through logical
steps of a literature review, kinematic analysis, finite element analysis, and clearance
and interference checks. Similarly, the build progressed through component
fabrication, verification, assembly, testing, and refinement. It was particularly
satisfying for the students involved in the design to see the suspension successfully
tackle the larger obstacles that were presented before it in testing. While the design
calculations had been checked and double checked, the tension in the assembled
students was apparent as the robot navigated those extreme mounds and depressions.
He explains that in addition to being a success for the team, it was a success for the
approach as the performance predicted in the design process was realized in the final
product.

Page | XXV
2.3 GAP IDENTIFICATION FROM LITERATURE

The existing literature shows that researchers have attempted kinematic analysis of
rocker bogie rover and studied the behavior of the rover. This has been done with the
assumption that rover moves with a very slow speed.

This work presents the construction of dynamic model of step climbing rocker-
bogie mechanism and makes it useful in the civil purpose applications. In order to
improve the climbing capability of a wheel-type mobile rover especially against
structured terrains such as steps and stairs, several mechanisms have been developed
on the basis of the rocker-bogie so that a few mobile robots can climb even steps of
twice their wheel diameter. However, they often suffer from undesired phenomenon
that some wheels float from the ground while climbing steps and stairs, which may
cause instability of the mobile robot. It is worthwhile to note that a trajectory of center
of mass (CM) may serve as a tool for effectively predicting such undesirable
phenomenon which is likely to occur at the moment the trajectory of CM drastically
or discontinuously changes. Therefore, it is highly required to make the trajectory of
CM as smooth as possible, which implies that the trajectory of CM must be close to a
straight line whose slope is determined by a step or a stair. Since this requirement on
the trajectory of CM minimizes the required motor power, the possibility is increased
that the mobile robot can efficiently climb a step or a stair even for the relatively low
friction coefficient

Page | XXVI
 CHAPTER-3

PAST PRESENT & FUTURE

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter will begin by reviewing some past space exploration rovers as well as
rovers currently in development. It will discuss specific missions along with the
corresponding design features and capabilities, specifically relating to mobility and
navigation, that made these rovers successful in meeting their objectives on the
Martian or lunar surface. Next, specific features of these rovers are discussed in order
to learn more about the types of technologies that are often used on exploration
rovers. Both hardware and software design choices are reviewed, as they relate to the
mobility challenges of ground compliance and hazard avoidance. Lastly, research into
analog testing presents what is currently being done by NASA and others to validate
planetary rovers on Earth. A variety of harsh Earth environments are examined for
their suitability in analog testing based on how well they represent certain aspects of
the Martian and Lunar environments. A few NASA sponsored competitions are also
reviewed, as they can often provide unique opportunities for analog testing at NASA
facilities. Not only this, the rocker bogie suspension system can be developed into a
wheel chair too to take the patients from one place to another CLIMBING THE
STAIRS on its own.

3.2 RECENT ROVERS AND THEIR MISSIONS

Much of space exploration can be divided into three categories: a quest to better
understand our universe, interest, and economic potential in using natural resources
outside our planet, and the future colonization of extra-terrestrial bodies. Furthermore,
most interest has been in our moon and Mars, as these planetary bodies are close by,
and have environments that are hospitable enough for rovers, and potentially for
future colonization.

The moon is also very well suited for scientific equipment such as radio
observatories or IR telescopes, as it has no atmosphere, instruments such as these can
measure signals that would otherwise be disturbed or eliminated on Earth. Interest in
Mars mostly relates to expanding our knowledge of the planet, specifically with
respect to its ability to support a human colony. Learning more about the composition

Page | XXVII
of its atmosphere and soil can tell us whether Mars could potentially support
microbial life.

Since 1976, NASA has been exploring the surface of Mars with rovers, starting
with the dual landing of Viking 1 and Viking 2 Landers. In 1997, The Mars
Pathfinder (MPF) lander delivered the Sojourner Rover to the surface successfully.
Most recently, in early 2004, NASA again landed two more rovers on Mars, Spirit
and Opportunity. In November 2011, NASA has launched the Mars Science
Laboratory (MSL) with a rover named Curiosity. Despite the multiple rovers that
NASA has sent to Mars, each mission has similar objectives. Making improvements
from past Mars rovers, NASA has continued to develop autonomous navigation to
make it easier and quicker to control their rovers, given the relatively large time
delays in sending commands.

Fig.3.1 NASA - JPL Sojourner Rover

To do this, on-board stereo vision processing was used to develop an image on the
environment, which identified positive and negative obstacles relative to the ground
plane. The other main features of the MERs relate to mobility hardware, which

Page | XXVIII
allowed them to traverse the Martian terrain with relative ease. In continuation of past
Mars rover designs, the rocker-bogie suspension was used. It consists of six wheels
and multiple axles that allow the rover to overcome obstacles larger than its wheel
diameter. The specialized wheels of the rover are approximately 26 centimeters in
diameter and have a unique aluminum flexure structure to connect the hub to the rim
of the wheel. These flexure joints act as shock absorbers which help to reduce the
shock loads on other components of the rover. Each wheel also has small cleats,
which have been found to be effective both for soft sandy terrain and in navigating
over rocks.

Fig.3.2 Mars Exploration Rover (MER)

Curiosity Rover: Curiosity is a car-sized robotic rover exploring Mars as part of

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission.

Launch date : November 26, 2011

Rocket : Atlas V

Manufacturer : NASA

Operator : NASA

Mission Type : Mars Exploration Rover

Launch Mass : 900 Kg

Page | XXIX
Max Speed : 50mm/s

Average Speed : 10mm/s

Curiosity an advantage in terms of its path planning ability. It has a three axis
inertial measurement unit (IMU), enabling the rover to make precise movements
while also monitoring the degree of tilt that the rover is experiencing. To tackle the
mobility challenge, the 900kg rover has a very similar 6 wheel rocker-bogie
suspension as previous Mars exploration rovers have. The larger size combined with
the rocker- bogie suspension allows the rover to go over obstacles 60-75cm higher,
which is greater than its wheel diameter of 50cm. It can also safely traverse slopes up
to 45°, but is limited to 30° slopes by software to ensure a factor of safety. Curiosity
also has created treats that are similar to the MER rovers, which were found to be an
optimal solution for Martian terrain. With a top speed of 4cm/sec, it was the fastest
rover sent to Mars.

In reviewing NASA’s rovers for surface exploration on Mars, there were many
similarities in both their mechanical design and software that enable the rovers to
perform on-board path planning. Autonomous planetary navigation combined with
hazard avoidance and other self-preservation autonomy makes these rovers excellent
platforms to reliably transport and position their scientific instruments. The biggest
changes between missions have been the size of the rover and the types of scientific
instruments it supports.

NASA’s most modern rover, the Mars Rover Curiosity (MRC), gives us proven
information that demonstrates the efficiency of rocker-bogie systems dealing with
obstacles the size of the diameter of its wheels, but moving at an average speed below
2 cm/s to ensure stability against overturning due to sudden changes in the position of
the center of gravity. Similarly, studies obtained with the MRC show that the
maximum speed on hard, flat ground is 4 cm/s, also having as main limiting condition
the position of the CoG and its influence on the stability margin of the system.

Page | XXX
Fig.3.3 NASA’S Curiosity Mars Rover

Astrobotic Technology Inc. is one such company that has founded itself on making
space exploration profitable, by delivering payloads and performing robotic services
on the moon. They are currently in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University
and others, to develop a rover and lander for their first surface lunar exploration
mission, which if successful will satisfy the X-prize criteria as well as other
objectives. Their robot, called Red Rover, is reviewed here because it is one of the
most developed lunar exploration rovers. Red Rover is designed to be a scout,
exploring places such as polar ice fields or skylights into lunar lava tubes. Its goal is
to determine where the interesting locations are, based on its analysis of chemical
composition and high resolution 3D images. To facilitate roving about the lunar
surface, Red Rover uses a 4 wheel rocker differencing suspension system. This type
of passive suspension is based on the rocker-bogie design but is simplified by
reducing the number of wheels and free-pivoting axles. It drives the two wheels on
each side of the rover together, and thus relies on skid-steering to rotate the rover. For
vision, Red Rover has a stereo camera and flash LIDAR which will allow it to make
high-resolution terrain maps. While it will likely have some form of on-board

Page | XXXI
autonomous hazard avoidance or path planning it is unclear exactly to what extent, as
available information only suggests that the rover is tele operated. Below is a picture
of one of the recent prototypes of Red Rover.

Fig.3.5 Red Rover

3.3 ROVER MOBILITY

One of the most challenging aspects of rover operation in planetary environments

is effective mobility. In order for a rover to complete any science tasks, it first must be
able to move confidently in unforgiving terrain. This may include both challenging
surfaces and wider-scale terrain discontinuities. Surface challenges to rover mobility
include fine powders such as lunar regolith, screen fields, and larger rocks.
Topographic features such as craters, hills, gullies, and cliffs present different forms
of challenges. To complicate the problem further, many planetary environments are
not well studied, so rover mobility systems must be flexible to accommodate
unknown factors. Effective rover mobility systems combine robust mechanical
hardware with sensors and programming to detect impassible terrain. The goal of any
rover mobility system is to reduce the impact of variable terrain on the rover’s ability

Page | XXXII
to traverse a given path. This typically involves a suspension system which allows the
rover to travel over certain obstacles in its path as well as absorb shocks and
unevenness. The most basic mobility system is the wheel, and an effective wheel
design becomes a major part of any rover drive system. Most planetary rovers have
used all-metal wheels for their high strength-to-weight ratio. NASA/JPL’s 10.5
kilogram Sojourner rover used 13 centimeter one- piece aluminum wheels with sharp
stainless steel cleats to climb obstacles and gain traction in soft soil. Sojourner’s
wheels were rigidly connected to the drive motors with no suspension elements. It has
large billet aluminum with thin straight spokes and a zigzag aluminum pattern
machined into the outer surface. These 50 centimeter wheels support the 900 kilogram
rover over obstacles up to 75 centimeters in height. Additionally, MSL’s wheels are
needed to support the rover during its final landing, a large shock load. The Mars
Science Laboratory plans to drive about 12 kilometers during its mission, most of it
autonomously. These components are typically articulated to increase the maximum
obstacle the rover is capable of traversing, as well as maintain stability on tilted
terrain. These mobility systems can also incorporate passive or active suspension
elements which help reduce the shock loading experienced by the rover chassis. The
two most common methods of articulating mobility systems include rocker bogie and
rocker differencing. The primary benefit to a rocker-bogie suspension is that a rover is
able to climb an obstacle up to twice the diameter of its wheels while keeping all 6
wheels in contact with the surface. Because the front and rear wheels can help to push
or pull the free-floating bogie link, it is able to go over relatively large obstacles
compare to its wheel size. As a suspension system, the rocker-bogie contains no
spring elements, and this helps provide stability while going over large obstacles.

Page | XXXIII
 CHAPTER-4
RELATED CONCEPTS & THEORIES

4.1 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS & SPECIFICATIONS

Our main goal is to design, develop, and test a rover to serve as a mobility
platform, suitable for climbing steps and overcome obstacles. The design will focus
on incorporating features that are believed to be essential for most planetary
exploration missions and it’s capability to overcome the obstacles based on research
of past and current rovers. Given what we have learned about existing rovers and the
types of missions they aim to accomplish, our design goals for our rover have been
made into these categories:

1. Mobility and navigation

2. Size and weight restrictions

While our rover will not be travelling to space, it is our goal to make a robust and
ruggedized platform that will be suitable for testing in harsh earth environments, on
terrain similar to that of our moon and Mars and be able to climb steps. Given sufficient
mobility in planetary environments, the rover must also be able to accommodate
payloads, if possible. Transporting sensitive scientific instruments across rough terrain
is the main goal for nearly all exploration rovers, and thus one of our central
requirements. Additionally, to be useful for other users both in academia or industry,
the rover needs to easily integrate new hardware and software as part of its payloads.
By providing a robust mobility platform that can accommodate a wide range of
payloads, the rover should prove useful to anyone interested in testing rover related
technologies or conducting research in the field of space exploration. Lastly, the rover
will aim to recognize the size and weight constraints that all space bound vehicles face.
While there are many resource constraints that prohibit us from designing a space-ready
rover, the design will attempt to accommodate space considerations when possible. In
formulating the design specifications relating to mobility we wanted to ensure that the
rover could traverse a wide variety of harsh Earth environments. Such terrain includes
deserts, rock fields, gravel pits, sand dunes, and mountainous areas in many different
climates. In examining these terrains we will make design criteria’s relating to the size

Page | XXXIV
of obstacles, inclines, and speeds that the rover must achieve, in order to ensure that it
could maneuver in many different environments. in most scenarios the ability to go over
larger obstacles always increases mobility potential. For our rover we set the goal of
being able to traverse obstacles, both positive and negative to the ground plane.

4.2 RELATED CONCEPTS

In order to fully exploit the behavior of the proposed rocker-bogie mechanism

during climbing the stair, its corresponding motions are divided into several phases
that show the status of the interaction between the wheels and the stair. So we need to
have a brief idea of the related concepts that tends the motion of rocker bogie
suspension.

4.2.1 Traction and Slip

The rover must maintain good wheel traction in challenging rough terrains. If
traction is too high, the vehicle consumes a lot of power in order to overcome the
force and move. If traction is too low, the rover is not able to climb over obstacles or
inclined surfaces. Slip occurs when the traction force at a wheel-terrain contact point
is larger than the product of the normal force at the same wheel and the friction
coefficient. Hence, no slip occurs if the condition

Ti ≤ μNi
Is satisfied. In reality it is very challenging to determine the precise friction
coefficient μ for the interaction of two surfaces.

4.2.2 Lateral Stability

The rover is said to be stable when it is in a quasi-static state in which it does not
tilt over. The simplest approach to find the static stability is using the geometric
model, which is commonly referred to as stability margin. As the asymmetric
suspension system of the passively articulated rover has a great influence on the
vehicle’s effective stability, a more advanced approach is using a static model.

The lateral stability of the rover ensures that the rover does not tip sideways. As
the rover has two symmetric sides, the geometric model is used to find the lateral
stability of the vehicle. Lateral stability is computed by finding the minimum allowed
angle on the slope before the rover tips over. Lateral stability is ensured if this angle is

Page | XXXV
smaller than the maximum angle of incline α on the slope at the wheel-terrain contact
points. The angles θl and θr are obtained geometrically. The overall stability angle θstab
can be computed by

θstab = min (θr,θl)

Lateral stability of the rover is ensured if the overall stability angle

θstab ≥ α
Thus, min (θr,θl) ≥ α

Fig.4.1 Lateral Stability

Let N1 be the reaction on the right wheel and N2 be the reaction on the left wheel.

Let α be the slope of the inclination, θr & θl be the angle that the point of contact
makes with the Centre of Gravity on the left and right wheels respectively. Z be the
height of the centre of gravity. And yl and yr be the perpendicular between the point of
contact and the Centre of Gravity.

In this condition to ensure the stability the rover should not tip off the inclined. And
hence the normal reaction on any of the wheel should not be 0. Taking moment at the
left wheel.

Mg z sin α + Mg yl cos α = N1 (yl+yr)

Dividing the equation by z

Mg sin α + Mg yl/z cos α = N1 (yl+yr)/z

From the figure above the yl/z = tan θl and yr/z =tan θr

Page | XXXVI
Mg sin α + Mg tan θl cos α = N1 (tan θl + tan θr)
Let θl, θr and α be very small then,

Mg α + Mg θl = N1 (θl + θr)
Mg (α + θl ) = N1 (θl +θr)
Mg > N1
(α + θl ) < (θl +θr)
α < θr
Hence to ensure stability this condition should be fulfilled.

4.2.3 Longitudinal Stability

The computation of the longitudinal stability of the rover makes use of a statical
model as it is not symmetric in longitudinal direction. Using a statical model, the
mechanical properties of the suspension system are taken into account. According to,
longitudinal stability of the vehicle is given when all wheels have ground contact and
the condition Ni > 0 is satisfied, where Ni is the normal force at wheel i. It should be
noted that even though this condition is compulsory for the statical model to work, a
physical rover does not necessarily tip if a wheel looses contact to the ground.
However, it is less steerable.

Fig.4.2 Longitudinal Stability

4.2.4 Static Stability Factor

The Static Stability Factor (SSF) of a vehicle is one half the track width, TW,
divided by h, the height of the center of gravity above the road. The inertial force
which causes a vehicle to sway on its suspension (and roll over in extreme cases) in
response to cornering, rapid steering reversals or striking a tripping mechanism, when
sliding laterally may be thought of as a force acting at the CoG to pull the vehicle

Page | XXXVII
body laterally. A reduction in CoG height increases the lateral inertial force necessary
to cause rollover by reducing its leverage, and the advantage is represented by an
increase in the computed value of SSF. A wider track width also increases the lateral
force necessary to cause rollover by increasing the leverage of the vehicle's weight in
resisting rollover, and that advantage also increases the computed value of SSF. The
factor of two in the computation "TW over 2h" makes SSF equal to the lateral
acceleration in g's (g-force) at which rollover begins in the most simplified rollover
analysis of a vehicle represented by a rigid body without suspension movement or tire
deflections.

SSF = TW / 2h →Equation 1

Fig.4.3 Static Stability Factor Diagram

Static Stability factor (SSF) is defined as the ratio of LATERAL POSITION OF
THE VEHICLE CoG to the VERTICAL POSITION. Larger values of SSF indicate
greater stability. Physically, the SSF corresponds to the lateral acceleration in g’s that
causes wheel lift-off for a rigid vehicle traversing flat ground. Several metrics based
on geometric principles have been developed for stability measurement. Researchers
in mobile robotics have recognized that the location of the CoG relative to the wheel–
terrain contact points is critical to vehicle stability. The support polygon is defined as

Page | XXXVIII
the convex hull of the polygon formed by wheel–terrain contact points projected onto
a horizontal plane. An early geometric measure defined stable vehicle configurations
as those where the horizontal projection of the vehicle CoG lies within this polygon.
A stability margin was then defined based on the shortest distance from the projected
CoG to a side of the polygon

Fig.4.4 Support Polygon for General Rover

In this approach, the robot’s n wheel-terrain contact points pi , I={1,…,l} are

numbered in ascending order in a clockwise manner when viewed from above, as
shown in Figure 4.4. These points from the nodes of a three-dimensional support
polygon. The lines joining the wheel-terrain contact points are referred to as tip over
axes and are denoted ri .

After an analysis, the authors introduce a possible solution that meets the
conditions laid down, which is based on adding a rotation axis over the Y-plane of the
bogie system, varying the yaw orientation of the bogie, thereby altering the position
of the outer support polygon points and increasing the size of the area in contact with
the ground.The below figure gives us an idea about the dynamic bogie modifications
during it’s transversal.

Page | XXXIX
Fig.4.5 Dynamic Bogie Modifications

(a) Rocker-bogie regular configuration,

(b) Rocker-dynamic bogie high speed configuration.

The proposed system includes rotation motors for each wheel that are in charge of
the translation of the rover, also, it uses an extra motor on each wheel to change its
orientation and therefore change the orientation of the rover. In addition it controls the
added bogie rotation axis with a motor that allows the movement of each bogie when
it’s needed.

Using Equation1, different rotation angles about the new axis are analyzed,
seeking to find a suitable value in which the suspension provided by the rocker-bogie
system is not compromised and the expansion of the contact polygon is expanded
achieving an optimal SSF (see Table 1).

Initially, we assume 45 degrees as the optimal rotation factor in the dynamic bogie
design because the criteria in Equation 1 shows a favorable increase in the SSF,
considering this rotation angle as the maximum possible without altering the original
rocker-bogie performance.

Rotation Degree Static Stability Factor

10 1.34

20 1.40

35 1.54

Page | XL
 45 1.55

Table.4.1 SSF Variation with Rotation Degree

4.3 STUDY OF WHEELED ROCKER BOGIE MECHANISM

The rocker bogie suspension system, which was specifically designed for space
exploration vehicles have deep history embedded in its development. The term
“rocker” describes the rocking aspect of the larger links present each side of the
suspension system and balance the bogie as these rockers are connected to each other
and the vehicle chassis through a selectively modified differential.

As accordance with the motion to maintain centre of gravity of entire vehicle, when
one rocker moves up-word, the other goes down. The chassis plays vital role to maintain
the average pitch angle of both rockers by allowing both rockers to move as per the
situation. As per the acute design, one end of a rocker is fitted with a drive wheel and
the other end is pivoted to a bogie which provides required motion and degree of
freedom.

Fig.4.6 Line Diagram of Rocker Bogie Suspension System and its Mobile Joints

In the system, “bogie” refers to the conjoining links that have a drive wheel
attached at each end. Bogies were commonly used to bare loading as tracks of army
tanks as idlers distributing the load over the terrain. Bogies were also quite commonly
used on the trailers of semi trailer trucks as that very time the trucks will have to carry
much heavier load.

4.3.1 Suspension

The requirements of a rover suspension are:

Page | XLI
As simple and lightweight as possible

Connections should be without spring to maintain equal traction force on wheels

Distribute load equally to each wheel for most of the orientation possibilities to
prevent from slipping

Rocker-Bogie suspension has been developed for first Mars rover Sojourner by
NASA.

Fig.4.7 Articulated Suspension System

This suspension has 6 wheels with symmetric structure for both sides. Each side
has 3 wheels which are connected to each other with two links. Main linkage called
rocker has two joints. While first joint connected to front wheel, other joint assembled
to another linkage called bogie, which is similar to train wagon suspension member.
In later design of articulated suspension system, called rocker-bogie with small
changes.

Page | XLII
Fig.4.8 Kinematic Diagram of Rocker Bogie Suspension

4.3.2 Obstacle capacity

Fig.4.9 Definition of Obstacle Capacity

A rover’s obstacle limit generally compared with robot’s wheel size. In four wheel
drive off-road vehicles, limit is nearly half of their wheel diameter. It is possible to
pass over more than this height by pushing driving wheel to obstacle which can be
called as climbing. Step or stair climbing is the maximum limit of obstacles. The
contact point of wheel and obstacle is at the same height with wheel center for this
condition.

Field tests show that Mars mobile robots should be able to overcome at least 1.5
times height of its wheel diameter. This limitation narrows the mobile robot selection

Page | XLIII
alternatives and forces scientists to improve their current designs and study on new
rovers.

4.3.3 Wheel motion

While driving on a flat surface, if there is no slipping, wheel center will move on a
line parallel to the surface with constant velocity. Although, obstacle geometries can
be different, most difficult geometry which be can climbed by wheel is stair type
rectangular obstacle.

Fig.4.10 Wheel Passing Over Obstacle

From the above figure, same wheel diameter (a) and more than half wheel diameter
(b) height obstacle.

In figure 4.10 (a), height of the obstacle is same or less than the half diameter of the
wheel. For this condition, the wheel’s instant center of rotation (IC1) is located at the
contact point of the obstacle and wheel. Trajectory of the wheel centers’ during
motion generates a soft curve, thus, horizontal motion of the wheel center does not
break.

Since in figure 4.10 (b), height of the obstacle is more than the half diameter of wheel,
this condition can be classified as climbing. Climbing motion consist of two sub
motions. First one is a vertical motion, which causes a horizontal reaction force on
wheel center. This vertical motion’s instant center (IC2) is at infinity. Second one is a
soft rotation similar to figure 4.10 (a) with instant center of rotation (IC3) at the
corner.

Page | XLIV
4.4 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

Under this section we will discuss our complete STEP CLIMBING ROCKER-
BOGIE ROVER design and discuss how our key design decisions were made in order
to meet the requirements and goals presented in the previous sections. Each one of
these is related to meeting fundamental requirements.

4.4.1 Mobility

Mobility relates to the rover’s capacity to traverse varying terrains, slopes, and
obstacles. In beginning the process of formulating the drive architecture we reviewed
current and past rovers in consideration of chassis design, suspension methods, wheel
design, and power requirements. Since nearly all rover hardware is related to
mobility, this section will review most of the mechanical design including the chassis,
suspension, and wheel components. These rovers move slowly and climb over the
obstacles by having wheels lift each piece of the suspension over the obstacle one
portion at a time. NASA’s currently favored design, the rocker-bogie, uses a two
wheeled rocker arm on a passive pivot attached to a main bogie that is connected
differentially to the main bogie on the other side. The ride is further smoothed by the
rocker which only passes on a portion of a wheel’s displacement to the main bogie.
Each wheel is independently driven. The maximum speed of the robots operated in
this way is limited to eliminate as many dynamic effects as possible, and so that the
motors can be geared down so that the wheels can individually lift a large portion of
the entire vehicle’s mass.

In order to go over an obstacle, the front wheels are forced against the obstacle by
the rear wheels. The rotation of the front wheel then lifts the front of the vehicle up
and over the obstacle. The middle wheel is the pressed against the obstacle by the rear
wheel and pulled against the obstacle by the front, until it is lifted up and over.
Finally, the rear wheel is pulled over the obstacle by the front two wheels. During
each wheel’s traversal of the obstacle, forward progress of the vehicle is slowed or
completely halted. We will be using the same mechanism the six wheel independent
drive to cross the obstacles but without any differential. To further simplify the design
we choose to use one motor to directly drive each wheel. Since it is a skid steering
rover an alternative solution could be to have one motor drive two wheels on either
side, resulting in fewer motors and less mass. However, having one motor for each

Page | XLV
wheel reduces the need for a complex power transfer system, which is often done with
belts, gears, or drive shafts. The material used for the links should be cheap as well as
light in weight that’s why we will use the Acrylic material (PVC PIPES) which has
the required properties of light weight and rigidity.

4.4.2 Wheel design

The wheels are needed to be wider for increasing the traction to traverse upon the
obstacles. And their diameter depends upon the availability and amount of speed
required. The actual rover uses billet wheels, and machine the wheel and tread from
one piece of round aluminum stock.The main problem during the selection of the
wheels is light weight consideration and the distribution of load on the wheels.

Fig.4.11 Wheel Design

(a) Circular wheel failing to provide the desired counter-clockwise moment about axis
of rotation for Module

(b) Modified wheel design providing the desired counter-clockwise moment

A counter-clockwise moment can be easily achieved by changing some of the design

parameters of the vehicle. For example, decreasing the length of the module or
increasing the radius of the wheel to such an extent that the contact force starts
providing the desired counter-clockwise moment are viable options. Shape is an easily
alterable design freedom with potential benefits both in terms of simplicity and
robustness, hence we explored this. We modified the wheel design of our robot. As
can be seen in Figure 4.11 (b), blending arcs on the circumference of the wheel
changes the direction of the resultant contact force obtained from the overhang,
providing a counter-clockwise moment about the axis of rotation of the folding
module.

Page | XLVI
 VELOCITY 8m/s VELOCITY 10m/s VELOCITY 12m/s

rpm diameter rpm diameter rpm diameter

m cm m cm m cm

10 0.153 15.277 10 0.191 19.096 10 0.229 22.915

20 0.076 7.638 20 0.095 9.548 20 0.115 11.458

30 0.051 5.092 30 0.064 6.365 30 0.076 7.638

40 0.038 3.819 40 0.048 4.774 40 0.057 5.729

50 0.031 3.055 50 0.038 3.819 50 0.046 4.583

60 0.025 2.546 60 0.032 3.183 60 0.038 3.819

70 0.022 2.182 70 0.027 2.728 70 0.033 3.274

80 0.019 1.910 80 0.024 2.387 80 0.029 2.864

90 0.017 1.697 90 0.021 2.122 90 0.025 2.546

100 0.015 1.528 100 0.019 1.910 100 0.023 2.292

110 0.014 1.389 110 0.017 1.736 110 0.021 2.083

120 0.013 1.273 120 0.016 1.591 120 0.019 1.910

130 0.012 1.175 130 0.015 1.469 130 0.018 1.763

140 0.011 1.091 140 0.014 1.364 140 0.016 1.637

Table.4.1 Calculation of Wheel Diameter

Hence for the light weight and cost effectiveness of the rover we will choose plastic
wheels with rubber treads available in the market depending upon the calculations.
While our wheel design may not be optimized in terms of strength and weight
reduction, it will result in a cost effective solution with minimal manufacturing time,
and a wheel that should meet all design goals.

4.4.3 Driver Motor Selection

Since the rover consists of six indepently drive wheels hence the drive motor is
needed for every wheel. The Selection of drive motor depends upon the speed of the
rover that is desired. We will try to design the rover for a speed of 20cm/s and will
Page | XLVII
choose the parameters based upon it. The rover is designed to cross the obstacle and
hence need more traction thus the motor chose should be of low rpm but the rpm
cannot be very low because to maintain the speed the diameter of the wheel will have
to be increased thus an optimum rpm motor is needed to be selected. We will be using
a 30 rpm motor with 12V DC because it is well suited depending upon the
requirements and calculations.

4.4.4 Power Supply

The MER has to travel the surface of mars where there is no availability of power
source thus it used solar cell to charge the battery and derive the power from the
battery for the motors and other equipments. But since we are using the rover on the
earth surface and our main focus is the development of mechanism for climbing of
steps, rather than the power source so we will be using the cheapest possible
alternative that is the 12v Dc power supply lead acid battery, to supply the adequate
power to all motors in connection.

4.4.5 Control

The Control of the rover will be manual with the help of a joystick for driving each
side of the rover separately. It will be helpful while taking a turn. All the connections
will be wired and no wireless means will be used because we need to simulate the
mechanism and not the actual rover and to make it cost effective in all possible
manners. Here we are using DPDT (DOUBLE POLE DOUBLE THROW RELAY)
switch to control the rover movements.

We also made a wireless arrangement also, so that it can be operated with ease. We
are using RF 2.4 GHz receiver and 20A (motor drive) control unit, along with RF
2.4GHz play station 2 remote control with receiver.

Page | XLVIII
 CHAPTER-5

CALCULATIONS

5.1 DIAMETER OF THE WHEEL

From velocity,

(𝝅𝑫𝑵)
𝑽=
𝟔𝟎
Assumed speed of the rover to be 20cm/s i.e. 200mm/s.

Therefore, on substituting the values

(𝝅𝑫𝑵)
𝟐𝟎𝟎 =
𝟔𝟎
𝟐𝟎𝟎 ∗ 𝟔𝟎
𝑫𝑵 =
(𝝅)

𝑫𝑵 = 𝟑𝟖𝟏𝟗. 𝟕𝟏

From the below table we can come to estimation of the diameter of the wheel, (or)
since we have taken the rpm of the motor as 30, we can substitute and get the required
diameter.

DIAMETER RPM

20 190.9

40 95.49

60 63.66

80 47.74

100 38.197

120 31.830

125 30.55

140 27.28

Table.5.1 Calculation of Diameter and Rpm

So, from the above table the selected D-N combination is-

Page | XLIX
D=125mm

N=30rpm

5.2 CALCULATION OF WHEEL BASE

Fig.5.1 Centre Stage Stairs

𝒀
𝜽 = 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏
𝑿
𝟏𝟒𝟎
𝜽 = 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏
𝟔𝟎𝟎
Therefore,

𝜽 = 𝟏𝟑. 𝟏𝟑°

Now, width of the stair is 600mm.So the maximum length of the rover can be 600mm.

To deduce the wheel base,

Total length – (radius of front wheel + radius of rear wheel)

=600 – (62.5+62.5)

=475mm

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5.3 LENGTH OF THE LINKS

Fig.5.2 Angle between Links

Total wheel base =475mm

Let us assume,

Ɵ=45˚

Fig.5.3 Length of Links

In, Triangle BNC,

Angle BNC= 90˚

Angle NBC =Angle NCB =45˚

Therefore,

Page | LI
NC = NB

NC2 + NB2=BC2

From, the Pythagoras theorem,

BC = 2(NC)2 (1)

=2(230)2

=105800

Therefore,

BC=325.26mm

Rounding off to 320mm.

BC=320mm

Substituting to equ (1) we get,

3202=2(NC)2

NC=226.27

So on rounding off to 230mm.

NC =230mm

Also,

AN = NC = 230mm

In triangle AMN,

Angle AMN =90˚

AM2 + MN2 =AN2

From the Pythagoras theorem,

2AM2 = AN2

2AM2= 2302

AM = 162.63

So, on rounding off to 160mm

Page | LII
AM= 160mm

Now, due to symmetry,

AM = MN =160mm

BM = AB – AM

= 320-160

=160mm

Therefore,

BM = 160mm

5.4 HEIGHT CALCULATION

(Height)2= BC2 – NC2

= (320)2 – (230)2

= 222.48mm

On rounding off to 220mm

HEIGHT = 220mm

(Net Height = Height + Radius)

Net Height = 220 + 62.5

=282.5mm

NET HEIGHT = 282.5mm

Page | LIII
5.5 TRACK WIDTH

Fig.5.4 Links with Differential

Static Stability Factor, is

𝑻𝑾
𝑺𝑺𝑭 =
𝟐𝒉
On substituting the values, from the table 1, based on the rotation degree the SSF is
chosen.

𝑻𝑾
𝟏. 𝟑 =
𝟐 ∗ 𝟐𝟖𝟐. 𝟓
𝑻𝑾 = 𝟕𝟑𝟒. 𝟓𝒎𝒎

Thus, the required calculations are done, and the lengths of links are noted down for
the construction of the step climbing rocker bogie. The below figure depicts the
overview of all the dimensions of the rocker bogie rover.

Page | LIV
Fig.5.5 2-d view of Rocker Bogie Rover with all Dimensions

Page | LV
 CHAPTER-6

FABRICATION

6.1 POWER SUPPLY

Fig.6.1 Lead acid Battery

To give power supply to the motors, dc power supply lead acid battery is
connected. The specifications of the battery include 12v,4Ah.such that, adequate
power supply is given to the motors. The lead–acid battery was invented in 1859 by
French physicist Gaston Planté and is the oldest type of rechargeable battery. Despite
having a very low energy-to-weight ratio and a low energy-to-volume ratio, its ability
to supply high surge currents means that the cells have a relatively large power-to-
weight ratio. These features, along with their low cost, make them attractive for use in
motor vehicles to provide the high current required by automobile starter motors.
There is no need for the step up or step down transformer, since the motors are dc
gear motors

6.2 LINKAGES

The Linkages used are made up of PVC generally; PVC pipes are used as links. It
provides flexibility as well as good stiffness. The Linkages are connected in a way to
form the rocker as well as the bogie. With holes of appropriate sizes for the
connection of motors as well as the wheels of required specifications. And there is a
provision for the connection of screws to connect the rocker to the bogie. The term

Page | LVI
“rocker” comes from the rocking aspect of the larger links on each side of the
suspension system. The term “bogie” refers to the links that have a drive wheel at
each end.The considerations are listed below

List of materials

1. PVC pipe
Length: 6 feet, size: 1’’ (25mm)

2. 90-degree PVC Elbow

Quantity: 6 pieces, size: 1" (25mm)

3. 45-degree PVC Elbow

Quantity: 6 pieces, size: 1" (25mm)

4. PVC cap
Quantity: 2 pieces, size: 1" (25mm)

5. Metal or Hard plastic plate

Quantity: 4 pieces, size: 10 cm long

6. Hose Clip PVC Pipe Clamp

Quantity: 6 pieces, size: 1" (25mm)

6. Nuts and Bolts (along with washers)

Quantity: 5 sets

These are assembled together to form the required rocker bogie mechanism.

6.3 MOTORS

A DC motor is any of a class of rotary electrical machines that converts direct

current electrical energy into mechanical energy. The most common types rely on the
forces produced by magnetic fields. Nearly all types of DC motors have some internal
mechanism, either electromechanical or electronic; to periodically change the
direction of current flow in part of the motor.

Page | LVII
 DC motors were the first type widely used, since they could be powered from
existing direct-current lighting power distribution systems. A DC motor's speed can
be controlled over a wide range, using either a variable supply voltage or by changing
the strength of current in its field windings. Small DC motors are used in tools, toys,
and appliances. The universal motor can operate on direct current but is a lightweight
motor used for portable power tools and appliances. Larger DC motors are used in
propulsion of electric vehicles, elevator and hoists, or in drives for steel rolling mills.

From the calculations chapter, we concluded that 30rpmmotor is required for the
project. We need 6 dc geared motors. 30RPM high quality industrial grade metal
Gearbox Motor with offset shaft 12VDC. Below are the specifications of the dc
geared 30rpm motor.

Specifications:

 30RPM 12V DC motors with Gearbox

 4500RPM base motor

 6mm shaft diameter with internal hole

 125gm weight

 10kgcm torque

 No-load current = 100 mA(Max), Load current = 1000 mA(Max)

Every motor we use have the same specifications. Here rpm is the measure of
frequency of rotation. Whereas torque is the measure of turning force of an object.rpm
and torque are inversely proportional to each other, i.e. if rpm increases torque
decreases and vice-versa.

Page | LVIII
Fig.6.2 Side Shaft DC geared motor

6.4 CABLES

Generally, for the connection of motors to the power supply cables are essential.
Here we are using telephonic cables to avoid the confusion during connection.These
cables are soldered to the motor terminals. A wire is a single, usually cylindrical,
flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads or electricity
and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal
through a hole in a die or draw plate. Wire gauges come in various standard sizes, as
expressed in terms of a gauge number. The term wire is also used more loosely to
refer to a bundle of such strands, as in "multi stranded wire", which is more correctly
termed a wire rope in mechanics, or a cable in electricity.

Fig.6.3 Telephonic Cables

6.5 CONTROLLER

We need a controller to control the motors assembled rocker bogie,so we are trying
both types of transmission. wireless and wired transmission. For controlling the

Page | LIX
motion of the Rocker Bogie Mechanism we have provided joysticks which will
control the forward and backward motion of each part of the rocker bogie i.e the left
and the right part individually.

6.5.1 Wireless controller

We made our rover wireless with RF 2.4GHz coded Remote control. This is Ideal
for making any DC motor controlled rover. It can control up to 20Amp of current on
each channel. It can Drive 3 robot driving motors (Connect three motors in parallel for
6 wheeled robots) in skid steer control with analog speed control. It consists of
 RF 2.4GHz Receiver and 20A motor control Circuit
 RF 2.4GHz Play Station 2 remote Control with receiver

An RF module (radio frequency module) is a (usually) small electronic device used

to transmit and/or receive radio signals between two devices. In an embedded
system it is often desirable to communicate with another device wirelessly. This
wireless communication may be accomplished through optical communication or
through radio frequency (RF) communication.

Fig.6.4 Wireless Controller

For many applications the medium of choice is RF since it does not require line of
sight. RF communications incorporate a transmitter and a receiver. They are of
various types and ranges. Some can transmit up to 500 feet. RF modules are widely
used in electronic design owing to the difficulty of designing radio circuitry.

Page | LX
Fig.6.5 Functions of Remote Control

By using this we can control the rover easily, and make it move in the required
direction, The below figure depicts the joystick controls.

Fig.6.6 Motor Connections

6.5.2 Wired Controller

In the wired connection we are using DPDT switches(double pole double throw),
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can "make" or
"break" an electrical circuit, interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor

Page | LXI
to another. The mechanism of a switch removes or restores the conducting path in a
circuit when it is operated. It may be operated manually, for example, a light switch or
a keyboard button, may be operated by a moving object such as a door, or may be
operated by some sensing element for pressure, temperature or flow.

A switch will have one or more sets of contacts, which may operate
simultaneously, sequentially, or alternately. Switches in high-powered circuits must
operate rapidly to prevent destructive arcing, and may include special features to
assist in rapidly interrupting a heavy current. Multiple forms of actuators are used for
operation by hand or to sense position, level, temperature or flow. Special types are
used, for example, for control of machinery, to reverse electric motors, or to sense
liquid level. Many specialized forms exist. A common use is control of lighting,
where multiple switches may be wired into one circuit to allow convenient control of
light fixtures.

A switch may be directly manipulated by a human as a control signal to a system,

such as a computer keyboard button, or to control power flow in a circuit, such as
a light switch. Automatically operated switches can be used to control the motions of
machines.

Below is the connection of the four motors to a dpdt switch, in the similar way
connect the remainining motors in parallel connection.

Fig.6.7 DPDT switch

Page | LXII
Fig.6.8 Parallel Connection of motors

This switch is equal to two SPDT switches; it means two separate circuits, connecting
two inputs of each circuit to one of two outputs. The switch position controls the
number of ways and from the two contacts each contact can be routed. When it is in
ON-ON mode or ON-OFF-ON mode they works like two discrete SPDT switches
worked by the similar actuator. At a time only two loads can be ON. A DPDT switch
can be used in any application that needs an open & closed wiring system.

6.6 ASSEMBLY

The following steps are to be followed for the construction of Steps climbing rocker
bogie rover.

STEP.1 Initially, the PVC pipes are cut into the desired lengths using a cutter. The
dimensions should be accurate.

STEP.2 Secondly, 90˚ and 45˚ PVC elbow joints and cap are used to connect the PVC
pipes together to form a rocker bogie mechanism half section.

STEP.3 Motors are connected to the sections using hose clips, which are connected to
wheels of diameter 125mm.6 wheels are connected to the six ends of rover. The
motors are connected using couplers to the wheels; the internal diameter of the
coupler should 6mm

Page | LXIII
STEP.4 we need a frame i.e. differential to connect the two rocker bogie sections.The
dimensions are already illustrated in the calculation part. So, it is to be placed using
wooden pieces and the two rocker sections are joined together using bolts and nuts.

Fig.6.9 PVC links

Fig.6.10 PVC pipes Assembled

STEP.5 The rocker and bogie parts are connected using metal plates.

STEP.6 Later, cables are soldered to the motor terminals and the motors are
connected in parallel connection.

Page | LXIV
STEP.7 Battery is mounted on the differential, such that it should not intervene the
movement of rover.

STEP.8 finally, wire-less or wired controller is connected to the power supply. Such
that it controls the movement of rover.

Fig.6.11 Assembled Rover

STEP.9 The mounted battery is placed into a plastic box, such that its weight is
concentrated on the differential.

Page | LXV
STEP.10 finally, stickering is done to have a better look.stickering doesn’t have any
impact on its movement.

Fig.6.12 Stickered Rocker Bogie

Thus, the STEP CLIMBING ROCKER BOGIE ROVER is ready to climb the steps.

Fig.6.13 ROCKER BOGIE ROVER

Page | LXVI
 CHAPTER-7

CONCLUSIONS

7.1 CONCLUSION

This project will try reaching nearly all of our design requirements, and in many
respects exceeding original design goals. Furthermore all components, mechanical
and electrical, will be thoroughly tested as a completed system in real-world field
testing conditions to validate their success. Overall, preliminary estimates for the
general scope, budget, and timeline, for the project will be closely followed; with the
exception if the project goes moderately over budget.

7.2 BUDGET AND TABLE OF REQUIREMENTS

S.No Item Qty Material Budget Net

1. PVC Pipes 6Ft PVC 500 500

2 Elbows 12 PVC 25 300

3 Plates 2 METAL 20 40

4 Bolts 8 METAL 10 80

5 Plates 2 WOOD 10 20

TOTAL 940

Table.4 Hard ware Components

S.No Item Qty Budget Net

1 Motors 6 400 2400

2 Wheels 6 750 4500

3 Joystick+DPDT 1 2800 2800

4 Battery 1 1100 1100

5 Cables 8 25 200

TOTAL 11000

Table.5 Electrical Components

Page | LXVII
7.3 FUTURE SCOPE

As modular research platform the rover developed by this project is designed

specifically to facilitate future work. With the development in technology the rover
can be used for reconnaissance purposes with the cameras installed on the rover and
minimizing the size of rover. With some developments like attaching arms to the
rover it can be made useful for the Bomb Diffusing Squad such that it can be able to
cut the wires for diffusing the bomb. By the development of a bigger model it can be
used for transporting man and material through a rough terrain or obstacle containing
regions like stairs. We could develop it into a wheel chair too. It can be send in
valleys, jungles or such places where humans may face some danger. It can also be
developed into low cost exploration rover that could be send for collecting
information about the environment of some celestial bodies.

Page | LXVIII
 CHAPTER-8

RECOMMENDATIONS

8.1 OVER TURN PROBLEM

Although, load distribution advantage of rocker-bogie, a critical problem can occur

when climbing over an obstacle. Wheel forces on opposite direction of motion
produce a moment about pivot joint to rotate bogie.

Fig.8.1 Rover Overturn problem

Fig.8.2 free body diagram of wheels

(a) towed wheel
(b) driven wheel

Page | LXIX
 A rigid wheel sinks on the soft terrain as in figure 8.2. sh distance is called sinkage
height. Geometry of wheel, material and ground stiffness affects sinkage height.
Depending on the geophysical properties of soil, different reaction and resistance
forcesact on wheel.

The towed wheel carries some part of body weight (Ww). The force P which tries
to move the wheel, acts from vehicle axis to center point of the wheel. These two
forces are balanced by vertical ground reaction force (Rv) and resistance force of soil
R. In towed wheel, resistance force has to be as small as possible. Motion resistance
force is resultant of soil compaction resistance, bulldozing resistance, rolling
resistance, gravitational resistance and obstacle resistance.

On the driven wheel, additional traction force F acts to the contact point with the
same direction of motion. Traction force tries to pull the chassis of robot.

As we discuss in wheel forces, there are several forces act on wheel on x axis. If
the surface friction of an obstacle is not enough to climb, obstacle force (Fobs) can
reach high values. This problem can also occur while middle wheel actuator failure.
Driving velocity is also restricted by bogie overturn problem. Bogie pitch angle can
be adjusted by active control methods .An easy solution method for this problem can
be a linear motion suspension usage where obstacle reaction force cannot create any
moment.

Page | LXX
 CHAPTER-9

BIBLIYOGRAPHY

9.1 REFERENCES

[1] S. Hirose, N. Ootsukasa, T. Shirasu, H. Kuwahara and K. Yoneda, "Fundamental

Considerations for the Design of a Planetary Rover ", IEEE International Conference
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[2] Y. Xu, C. Lee and H. B. Brown, "A Separable Combination of Wheeled Rover
and Arm Mechanism: (DM)2", Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on
Robotics and Automation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, pp. 2383-2388, April 1996.

[3] L. Pedersen, D. Kortenkamp, D. Wattergreen and I Nourbakhsh, "A Survey of

Space Robotics ", In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Artificial
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[4] Y. Puke, D. Apostolopoulos, E. Rollins, J. Silberman and W. Whittakers, "A

Prototype Locomotion Concept for a Lunar Robotic Explorer ", IEEE International
Symposium on Intelligent Vehicles, pp. 382-387, September 1995.

[5] D. P. Miller and Tze-Liang Lee, "High-Speed Traversal of Rough Terrain Using a
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International Conference and Exposition on Robotics for Challenging Situations and
Environments, Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 2002.

[6] K. Yoshida and H. Hamano, "Motion Dynamics of a Rover with Slip-Based

Traction Model", Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics &
Automation, Washington, DC, pp. 3155-3160, May 2002.

[7] P. Lamon, A. Krebs, M. Lamia, R. Siegwart and S. Shooter, "Wheel Torque

Control for a Rough Terrain Rover", Proceedings of the IEEE international
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[8] M. Tarokh and G. J. McDermott, "Kinematics Modeling and Analyses of

Articulated Rovers", IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 539-553,
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Page | LXXI
[9] M. P. Mann and Z. Shiller, "Dynamic Stability of a Rocker Bogie Vehicle:
Longitudinal Motion", Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics
and Automation Barcelona, Spain, pp. 861-866, April 2005.

[10] R. Lindemann, "Dynamic testing and simulation of the Mars Exploration Rover",
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