Design and development of a semi-autonomous stair climbing robotic platform for rough terrains

Abstract

This paper presents the design of a stair climbing fixed flipper unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) for urban search and rescue purposes. Mobile flippers are being used in certain UGVs for enhanced mobility in rough terrains, however, the control algorithm of these platforms is complex. To add this enhanced mobility in the UGV and to reduce the intricacy of the control algorithm, anterior end of the tracks are lifted up which enables the UGV to pass over obstacles with relative ease. To prevent the rollover of UGV while moving on an inclined surface, an image processing algorithm was developed which halts the motion of UGV if the calculated slope exceeds the threshold value with a maximum error of about 8%. Furthermore, left and right track velocities along with the turn radius were also calculated.