Design And Fabrication Of Rocker-Bogie Mechanism

Project Report

On

DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ROCKER-BOGIE MECHANISM

SUBMITTED BY-

RUTUJA SURVE (108238)

KALPESH GAVANKAR (108239)
RAHUL NADE (108240)
KIRAN KADAM (108242)
PRASAD MARGI (108243)

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Mrs P. C. TIKEKAR

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC, RATNAGIRI
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2018-19

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 Design And Fabrication Of Rocker-Bogie Mechanism

Certificate
This is to certify that the project work entitled

DESIGN & FABRICATION OF ROCKER-BOGIE MECHANISM

Has been successfully completed by third year mechanical engineering students

1. Rutuja Surve (108238)
2. Kalpesh Gavankar (108239)
3. Rahul Nade (108240)
4. Kiran Kadam (108242)
5. Prasad Margi (108243)
In partial fulfillment for the

Diploma in Mechanical Engineering

Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education
During the academic year 2018-19 under the guidance of

PROJECT GUIDE H.O.D

(Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering) (Mechanical Engineering)

EXTERNAL EXAMINER PRINCIPAL

( ) (Government Polytechnic, Ratnagiri)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

GOVERNMENT POLYTECHNIC, RATNAGIRI
Academic Year 2018-19

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 Design And Fabrication Of Rocker-Bogie Mechanism

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

During the selection of “Design & Fabrication of Rocker-Bogie Mechanism”, the help we
received from our professors, family, and friends is invaluable and we are forever indebted to them.

We would first like to express our gratitude to our Principal Prof. G C Khursade, our HOD
Mr V. P. Rathod and our Project Guide Mrs P. C. Tikekar for their immense support,
suggestion, encouragement and interest in our project work. Without their invaluable suggestions
our project selection would be incomplete.

Last but not least, we would like to thank our friends, parents and group members for their
belief and patience in our endeavor.

1. Rutuja Surve (108038)

2.
3. Kalpesh Gavankar (108039)
4. Rahul Nade (108040)
5.
1. Kiran Kadam (108042)
2. Prasad Margi (108043)

Date:-

Place:- Ratnagiri

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 Design And Fabrication Of Rocker-Bogie Mechanism

ABSTRACT

Rocker bogie mechanism was used in the mars mission to overcome the rough terrains while
maintaining stability as it has robust capabilities to deal with obstacles and uniformly distribute the
payload over its 6 wheels at all times. It consists of two arms connected through a movable joint
with wheel mounted to each arm. This enables to have a suspension based mechanism that
distributes the vehicle load evenly on bumps and irregular surfaces. The design consists of a spring
free suspension based differential drive system allowing the bogie to move over rocks. It has no
springs or stub axles for each wheel, allowing the rover to climb over obstacles that are up to twice
the wheel’s diameter in size while keeping all six wheels on ground. The system is designed to be
used at low speed of around 10 cm/s (3.9 in/sec) so as to minimize dynamic shocks & consequent
damage to the vehicle when surmounting sizable obstacles. Our propose is to design and build a
Bluetooth operated Rocker-bogie vehicle capable of surmounting obstacles like stone, bumps, etc.
The Rocker-Bogie Mobility system is designed to be used at slow speeds. It is capable of
overcoming obstacles that are of the size of its wheel. However, while surmounting a sizable
obstacle, the vehicles motion effectively stops when the front wheel climbs the obstacle. Operating
at low speed (greater than 10cm/second), dynamic shocks are minimized when this happens. Shocks
resulting from the impact of the front wheel against an obstacle could damage the payload or the
vehicle. Our aim is to develop a method of driving a rocker-bogie vehicle so that it can effectively
step over most obstacles. This method is achieved without any mechanical modification to existing
designs – only a change in control strategy.

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LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES

Sr. No Figure No Description Page No
1 Figure 1 MER (Mars Exploration Rover) 11
2 Figure 2 NASA’s Curiosity Rover 12
3 Figure 3 Red Rover 13
4 Figure 4 Project Design 17
5 Figure 5 Lateral Stability 19
6 Figure 6 Longitudinal Stability 21
7 Figure 7 Centre Stage Stairs 26
8 Figure 8 Calculations at Centre Stage Stairs 27
9 Figure 9 Library Stairs 29
10 Figure 10 Calculation at Library Stairs 30

Sr. No Table No Description Page No

1 Table 1 Calculation of Wheel Diameters 23
2 Table 2 Calculation of Diameter and RPM 25
3 Table 3 Bill of Material 32

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Table of Contents

Chapter No. TITLE Page No.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 02
ABSTRACT 03
LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES 04
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction 08
1.2 Objective of the Project

2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Literature Review 10
2.2 Past, Present & Future
3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Scope of project 15
3.2 Advantages,Disadvantages and Applications
3.2.1 Advantages
3.2.2 Disadvantages
3.2.3 Applications
4 DESIGN
4.1. Related Concepts
4.1.1 Traction and Slip 17

4.1.2 Lateral Stability

4.2.3 Longitudinal Stability
4.1.4 Static Stability Factor
4.2 Design and Analysis
4.2.1 Wheel Design
4.2.2 Drive Motor Selection
5 RESULT AND ANALYSIS
5.1 Calculations
5.1.1 Diameter of wheel 25

5.1.2 Calculation of wheel

5.1.3 Length of link
5.1.4 Height calculation
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5.1.5 Track width

5.1.6 Calculation of wheel base
5.1.7 Length of link
5.1.8 Height Calculation
5.1.9 Track width
6 CONCLUSION 32

7 REFERENCE 33

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

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1.1 Introduction

There is an increasing need for mobile robots which are capable to operate in
unstructured environments with highly uneven terrain. These robots are mainly used for
tasks which cannot be performed by humans and are unsafe. Among these mobile systems,
the rocker-bogie suspension system was first used for the Mars Rover Sojourner and it’s
currently NASA’s favored design for rover wheel suspension.[5] The rocker-bogie
suspension mechanism enables a six-wheeled vehicle to passively keep all six wheels in
contact with the surface even when driving on severely uneven terrain. The two key
advantages to this feature are: The first advantage is that the wheels' pressure on the ground
is equilibrated. This is extremely important in soft terrain where excessive ground pressure
can result in sinking of the vehicle into the driving surface. The second advantage is that
while climbing over hard, uneven terrain or obstacles, 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.[4] 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) 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.[6]

1.2 Objective of the Project

Rocker-bogie suspension system was first used for the Mars Rover Sojourner. This is a
very less explored field of study and could be developed into exploration purpose
instrument.
By creating a rover that is suitable for operating in harsh environments, our goal is to
facilitate the development of vehicles with Rocker-bogie suspension system 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.[10]
Our mission is to design, develop, and test a model to serve as a research platform, suitable for testing
rough terrain 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 exploring the surrounding to give a visualisation to a person or

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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 can be used in military operations for visualising the scenario
at a region where a bomb is planted.[4] 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 .[4]

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Rocker bogie is a suspension arrangement used in the Mars rovers (mechanical robots)
introduced for the Mars Pathfinder & also used in the Mars Exploration Rover(MER) & Mars
Science Laboratory(MSL) Mission.[4] The initiation of rocker bogie suspension can be traced to
the development of planetary rover which are mobile robots especially move on a planet surface.
Early rovers were teleoperated like the LUNOKHOD-I while recent ones are fully automatic
such as FIDO, DISCOVERY & recently develop CURIOSITY .[3] The rovers needed to be very
robust & reliable , as it has to withstand dust , strong winds , corrosion & large temperature
changes under mysterious condition. Maximum rovers are powered by batteries which are
recharged by solar panels during the day installed over there surface. The locomotion system of
rovers remain crucial to enable it to reach objectives sites , conduct research & collect data & to
position itself according to the demand. There are three main types of rover locomotion
developed so far i.e. wheeled, legged & caterpillar locomotion. The main difference between the
miscellaneous designs of planetary robots lies in the type of locomotion system. Even after
developing many legged & hybrid robots, most researchers still focus on wheeled locomotion for
rovers because of its locomotive ease & advantages & among wheeled locomotion design, the
rocker bogie suspension system is most favored. The ancient FIDO rover & SOJOURNER
contains 6 independently steered & driven wheels suspended from a rocker bogie mechanism for
maximum suspension & ground clearance. ROCKEY 7 rover has similar suspension system just
differ in front wheels. The nanorovers & Nomad rovers have four steered wheels suspended from
two bogies & CRAB rover utilizes two parallel bogie mechanism on each side to overcome
obstacles & large holes. As far as the initial research is concerned, the software optimization
seeks for an optimum in the constrained solution space given an initial solution & Dr. Li et al.
derived a mathematical model to generalize rover suspension parameters which define the
geometry of the rocker bogie system.[3]

PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

2.1 Recent Rovers and their Missions

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

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colonization of extra-terrestrial bodies. 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 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 relates to
expanding our knowledge of the planet, specifically with respect to its ability to support a human
colony. Studying more about the composition of its atmosphere and soil can tell us whether Mars
could potentially support microbial life.[5]
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.[6] 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. 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 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.
[3] The specialized wheels of the rover are approximately 26 centimetres 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.[5]

Fig. 1 MER Rover

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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 cleated treads 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.

Fig 2. NASA’s Curiosity Rover

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.

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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 autonomous hazard avoidance or path planning it is unclear
exactly to what extent, as available information only suggests that the rover is teleoperated.
Figure 3 is a picture of one of the recent prototypes of Red Rover.[4]

Fig. 3 Red Rover

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2.3 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 to
traverse a given path. [7] 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.

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CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY
The rocker bogie system reduces the motion by half compared to other suspension
systems because each of the bogie's six wheels has an independent mechanism for motion and in
which the two front and two rear wheels have individual steering systems which allow the vehicle to
turn in place with zero-degree turning ratio. Every wheel has thick cleats which provides grip for
climbing in soft sand and scrambling over rocks with ease. In order to overcome vertical obstacle
faces, the front wheels are forced against the obstacle by the center and rear wheels which generate
maximum required torque. The rotation of the front wheel then lifts the front of the vehicle up and
over the obstacle and obstacle is overtaken. [3] Those wheels which remain in the middle, is then
pressed against the obstacle by the rear wheels and pulled against the obstacle by the front till the
time it is lifted up and over. At last, the rear wheel is pulled over the obstacle by the front two
wheels due to applying pull force. During each wheel's traversal of the obstacle, forward progress of
the vehicle is slowed or completely halted which finally maintain vehicles center of gravity.

Block Diagram:

POWER SUPPLY

ARDUINO

DC MOTORS

WHEELS

3.1 SCOPE OF PROJECT

1. It’s future application will be to assist astronauts as path finders during space
operations
2. It can be useful in space mission, recently it is used in Mars Rover.
3. This rover has larger wheel as compared to obstacles
4. It can be used in coal mines, act as a spy robot and in military operations.
5. It can be used as wheel chair for disabled persons.

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3.2 ADVANTAGES, DISAVDVANTAGES & APPLICATIONS:

3.2.1 ADVANTAGES:

1. The design is simple and reliable

2. Load on each wheel is nearly similar
3. The mechanism allows climbing the obstacles twice the wheel diameter
4. Rocker Bogie Suspension can withstand a tilt of at least 50 degrees in any
direction without overturning

3.2.2 DISADVANTAGES:

1. The speed of rocker bogie is very low (10 cm/s)

2. The signal of Bluetooth module loses when it is not in the range
3. It is highly unstable at high speed
4. It cannot withstand a tilt more than 50 degrees in any direction

3.2.3 APPLICATIONS:

1. It can be used in nuclear plants

2. For planetary exploration
3. In archeological exploration
4. For domestic purpose

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CHAPTER 4
Design

Fig. 4 Project Design

4.1 Related Concepts

4.1.1 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.[3]

4.1.2 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

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passively articulated rover has a great influence on the vehicle’s effective stability, a more
advanced approach is using a static model. [8]

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.[8]
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 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
.:. min(θr,θl) ≥ α

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Fig 5

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
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)

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

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4.1.3 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.[8]

Fig. 6 Longitudinal Stability

4.1.4 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 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.[8]

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4.2 Design & Analysis

Under this section we will discuss our complete 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.[2]

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 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 thats why we will use the Acrylic material which has the required
properties of light weight and rigidity.

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4.2.1 Wheel Design

The wheels are needed to be wider for increasing the traction to traverse upon the
obstacles. And their diameter depend 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.

Velocity 8cm/s Velocity 10cm/s Velocity 12cm/s

RPM Diamete RPM Diameter RPM Diameter
r
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 1 Calculation of Wheel Diameters

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.

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4.2.2 Drive 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 10 cm/s and will choose the
parameters based upon it. The rover is designed to cross the obstacle and hence need more
traction thus the motor choosed 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.[7]

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 rather than the power source so we will be
using the cheapest possible alternative that is the 12 0 12 Step down Transformer and a Full
wave Rectifier for converting the AC .into DC to supply the adequate power to all motors in
connection. [7]

Control
The Control of the rover will be manual and bluetooth operated with the help of a
mobile 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.

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CHAPTER 5
RESULT AND ANALYSIS

5.1 CALCULATIONS
Calculation 1
5.1.1 Diameter of Wheel
𝑉 = πDN /60
Assumed speed be 10 cm/s i.e. 100mm/s
Therefore,
100 = πDN 60
DN=1909.86

D N
10 190.99
20 95.49
30 63.66
40 47.75
50 38.2
60 31.83
70 27.28
80 23.87
90 21.22
100 19.1

Table 2 Calculation of Diameter and RPM

So the selected D-N combination is-
D = 70 mm
N = 27.28 rpm

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5.1.2 Calculation of Wheel Base

Figure 7 Centre Stage Stairs

θ = tan−1 (y / x)
θ = tan−1 (160 / 400)
Therefore, θ = 21.80˚
Now, width of the stairs is 400 mm. So the maximum length of the rover can be 400mm.
To deduce the wheel base,
Total length – (radius of front wheel + radius of rear wheel)

=400-(35+35)
=330 mm

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5.1.3 Length of Links

Fig. 8 Calculations at Centre Stage Stairs

Total Wheel base = 330 mm

Let us assume, Θ=45˚
In Triangle BNC, angle BNC = 90˚
Angle NBC = Angle NCB = 45˚
Therefore, NC = NB
NC2 + NB2 = BC2 … (Pythagoras Theorem)
BC2 = 2(NC) 2 … (1)
=2(165)2
=54450
Therefore, BC = 233.33mm
Rounding off to 230mm.
BC = 230mm
Substituting to eqn (1) we get,

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2302 = 2(NC) 2
NC = 162.63
Also, AN = NC = 162.63
In triangle AMN, angle AMN = 90
AM2 + MN2 = AN2 … (Pythagoras Theorem)
2AM2 = AN2
2AM2 = 162.63 2
AM = 114.99
=115 mm

Now, due to symmetry,

AM = MN = 115 mm
BM = AB – AM
=230 – 115
=115 mm
Therefore, BM = 115

5.1.4 Height Calculation:

Height2 = BC2 – NC2

(2302 – 162.632)1/2 = 162.639 mm
Net Height = 162.639 + 35 … (net ht = ht + radius)
= 197.639 mm

5.1.5 Track Width

𝑆𝑆𝐹 = 𝑇𝑤 2ℎ
1.3 = 𝑇𝑤 2 × 197.639
Tw = 513.86

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Calculation-2
5.1.6 Calculation of Wheel Base

Fig. 9 Library Stairs

θ = tan−1 (y / x)

θ = tan−1 (140/300)
Therefore, θ = 25.016˚ Now, width of the stairs is 300 mm. So the maximum
length of the rover can be 300mm. To deduce the wheel base, Total length – (radius of front
wheel + radius of rear wheel)
=300-(35+35)
=230 mm

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5.1.7 Length of Links

Fig. 10 Calculation at Library Stairs

Total Wheel base = 230 mm

Let us assume, Θ=45˚
In Triangle BNC, angle BNC = 90˚
Angle NBC = Angle NCB = 45˚
Therefore, NC = NB
NC2 + NB2 = BC2 … (Pythagoras Theorem)
BC2 = 2(NC)2 … (1)
=2(115)2
=26450
Therefore, BC = 162.63 mm
Rounding off to 162 mm.
BC = 162mm
Substituting to eqn (1) we get,
1622 = 2(NC)2
NC = 114.55 Also, AN = NC = 114.55
In triangle AMN, angle AMN = 90
AM2 + MN2 = AN2 … (Pythagoras Theorem)
2AM2 = AN2
2AM2 = 114.55 2
AM = 80.999

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=81 mm
Now, due to symmetry,
AM = MN = 81 mm
BM = AB – AM
=162 – 81
=81 mm
Therefore, BM = 81 mm
5.1.8 Height Calculation:
Height2 = BC2 – NC2
(1622 –1152 )1/2 = 114.101 mm
Net height = Height + Radius of wheel
= 114.101 + 35
= 149.101 mm

5.1.9 Track Width

𝑆𝑆𝐹 = 𝑇𝑤
2h
1.3 = Tw…..
2 × 149.101

Tw = 387.66 m

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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS
6.1 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.

3.3 Bill of Material

Sr. no. Material Quantity Cost per unit Total cost
(Rs) (Rs)
1 DC motor 6 110 660
(30 RPM)
2 Tyres 6 60 360
3 Motor driver IC(L293D) 1 50 50

4 Breadboard 1 100 100

5 Arduino uno R3 1 450 450
6 Bluetooth module 1 350 350

7 12V DC battery 1 375 375

8 12V DC Adapter 1 80 80
9 Jumper wire 10 5 50
10 PVC Pipe(1 inch.) 1(6 ft.) 1 180

11 90 deg elbow 6 24 144

12 45 deg elbow 6 26 156

13 PVC cap 2 12 24

14 Jolly clip 6 25 150

Total appr. Cost 3129

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Table 3 Bill of Material

With the total of Electrical and Hardware Purchases the rover costs around Rs.3500/-

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CHAPTER 6

REFERENCES

[1]. Hong-an Yang, Luis Carlos Velasco Rojas*, Changkai Xia, Qiang Guo, School of Mechanical
Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnic University, Xi’an, China, Dynamic Rocker-Bogie: A
Stability Enhancement for High- Speed Traversal- Vol. 3, No. 3, September 2014, pp. 212~220
ISSN: 2089-4856.
[2]. R.E. Moore, Interval analysis (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1966). (8)
[3]. Brooks Thomas; Graham Gold; Nick Sertic; DARK ROVER ROCKER-BOGIE
OPTIMIZATION DESIGN, The University of British Columbia, Project Number 1076 January 18,
2011.
[4]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocker-bogie
[5]. mars.nasa.gov/mer/home
[6]. robots.mit.edu/publications/papers/1998_07_Hac_Dub_Bid
[7]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP7p5Bd2d50
[8]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitudinal_static_stability
[9]. www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/809868/pages/IntroBack
[10]. www.esmats.eu/amspapers/pastpapers/pdfs/2004/harrington

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