Intelligent Mobility Platform with Active Spoke System

该项目探索了一种适用于非结构化环境的新型高机动性运动系统概念。具有主动辐条系统的智能移动平台（IMPASS）利用具有单独驱动辐条的无框车轮提供跨越大型障碍物（如腿）的能力，适应不平坦的表面（如轨道），同时保留车轮的速度和简单性。由于该系统缺乏腿的复杂性，并且具有较大的有效（车轮）直径，因此这种高度自适应的系统可以轻松地在极端地形上移动，同时保持可观的行驶速度，因此在搜索和救援任务，科学探索和反恐响应应用中具有巨大的潜力。这个研究项目将研究、论证和评估这个新颖的概念，重点是研究移动性、智能运动规划和设计问题。所提出的活动的智力优点在于开发了一种新型高机动性运动系统的原始概念，并提高了对机动性和智能运动规划问题的理解。这项研究的广泛影响包括高机动性系统的许多重要应用领域，通过将人类的能力扩展到未知和危险的环境中。通过将原型设计融入两个学期的本科高年级设计项目，将研究与教育相结合，促进教与学。开发的机器人原型将在第一届机器人比赛和当地高中向公众展示，以提高对科学和工程的兴趣。

This project explores a novel high mobility locomotion system concept for unstructured environments. The Intelligent Mobility Platform with Active Spoke System (IMPASS) utilizes rimless wheels with individually actuated spokes to provide the ability to step over large obstacles like legs, adapt to uneven surfaces like tracks, yet retaining the speed and simplicity of wheels. Since this system lacks the complexity of legs and has a large effective (wheel) diameter, this highly adaptive system can move over extreme terrain with ease while maintaining respectable travel speeds, and thus has great potential for search-and-rescue missions, scientific exploration, and anti-terror response applications. This research project will research, demonstrate and evaluate this novel concept with a focus on studying the issues of mobility, intelligent motion planning, and design. The intellectual merits of the proposed activities lie in the development of an original concept of a new type of high mobility locomotion system and an improved understanding of mobility and intelligent motion planning issues. The broader impacts of this research include the many important application areas of the high mobility system enabled by extending human reach capabilities into unknown and hazardous environments. This effort will integrate research with education and promote teaching and learning by integrating the prototype design into the two-semester undergraduate senior design project. The robot prototypes developed will be demonstrated to the public at the FIRST robotic competitions and at local high schools to promote interest in science and engineering.