Design and climbing performance study of variable diameter wheels for obstacle crossing robots
LUO Jiman
SONG Yucheng
SONG Yide
LI Zhenzhi
SONG Fang
Abstract：[Objective]In order to further improve the obstacle crossing performance of wheeled mobile robots,a planetary wheel type variable diameter wheel obstacle crossing robot was designed.[Methods]Firstly,the variable diameter wheel transmission method adopted a dual degree-of-freedom planetary gear mechanism;based on Adams simulation software,the fluctuation of robot centroid was compared between single and compound structures,the implementation plan for the variable diameter wheel was determined,and a 3D model of the robot was constructed.Secondly,theoretical analysis was conducted on the disc angle and diameter ratio of the variable diameter wheel mechanism;the turning radius and pose equations of the robot were solved through kinematic modeling,and based on the stable cone model,the climbing stability of the robot was studied.Thirdly,through SolidWorks and Adams joint simulation of the virtual robot,regarding the ability to climb stairs,simulations and verifications were conducted on factors such as step height and length,and torque required for variable diameter wheels.Finally,a physical prototype model of the robot was built,the test verification of robot's climbing performance and differential turning was conducted.[Results]The compound six wheel disc structure scheme is ultimately selected for the variable diameter wheel,with a variable diameter ratio of 1.6.The radius of the variable diameter wheel increases with the increase of the wheel disc angle.The pose of the robot during turning is related to the angular velocity of the variable diameter wheels on the left and right sides of the robot,as well as the width of the robot.It will not tip over during climbing steps.The maximum height and maximum torque of the variable diameter wheel climbing steps are obtained through simulation.The test results show that the robot can successfully climb continuous steps with corresponding obstacle crossing and differential turning capabilities,verifying the feasibility of the obstacle crossing robot design scheme.
Keywords：Obstacle crossing robotVariable diameter wheelCo-simulationClimbing performanceDifferential turning
Publication Date：2025-08-15
Online Publishing Date：2026-09-12(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：10( 12-21 )