Design of a Lunar Mobile Robot with Jumping Ability

Abstract

The Moon is an important destination for humans to carry out deep space exploration activities. The lunar surface exploration project has increasingly become a global concern. The lunar mobile robot is the foundation of the exploration project and an indispensable part of achieving the goal of lunar exploration. The complex terrain and a large number of craters and massive lunar rocks which put forward higher requirements for the lunar robot’s mobile ability. The lunar surface mobile robot with jumping ability can flexibly adapt to the change of lunar terrain. The robot combines conventional walking，post-deformation walking and pneumatic jumping to achieve the function of moving on the lunar surface and crossing obstacles. When the robot is moving on the regular terrain，the movement mode is consistent with the wheeled robot and the movement efficiency is high; when moving on irregular terrain，it works in the form of irregular wheels which can overcome relatively low obstacles; when encountering large obstacles，the jumping system is used to get over the obstacles with strong ability. The research of the mobile robot can provide a technical reference for the implementation of the lunar patrol and exploration missions.

Keywords

lunar robot / deformation wheel / mobile system / jumping system