ARES-III: A versatile multi-purpose all-terrain robot

Abstract

This paper presents ARES-III, a multi-purpose service robot for robust operation in all-terrain outdoor environments. Currently in pre-production phase, ARES-III is aimed to fulfil the requirements of a robotic platform that is able to support the development of real world applications in surveillance, agriculture, environmental monitoring, and other related domains. These demanding scenarios motivate a design focused on the reliability of the mechanical platform, the scalability of the control system, and the flexibility of its self-diagnosis and error recovery mechanisms. These are key features of ARES-III often disregarded in current commercial and research platforms. First, a comprehensive set of field trials demonstrated the ability of the ARES-III chassis, made of durable materials and with no-slip quasi-omnidirectional kinematic characteristics, to perform robustly in rough terrain. Second, supported by a control system fully compliant with the wide spread Robot Operating System (ROS), the scalability of ARES-III is enforced. Finally, the integration of active self-diagnosis and error recovery mechanisms in ARES-III control system fosters long lasting operation.