Maneuvering Robotic Vehicles Having A Positionable Sensor Head
First Claim
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1. A robot capable of addressing various obstacles, the robot comprising:
- a chassis defining a central open volume and having a chassis center of gravity;
a steerable drive supporting the chassis;
a set of driven flippers, each flipper having a proximal end, a distal end, and a flipper center of gravity therebetween, each the proximal end of each flipper coupled to the chassis near the leading end of the chassis;
a neck having a pivot end, a distal end, and a neck center of gravity therebetween, the neck pivotable about a second pivot axis substantially at the leading end of the chassis, having at least two tilt axis actuators along a length thereof; and
a sensor head at the distal end of the neck, the head having a pivot end, a distal end, and a head center of gravity therebetween, the head pivotable with respect to the neck about a third pivot axis at the distal end of the neck;
the neck and sensor head being movable between different configurations including;
(i) a stable stair ascending position in which the centers of gravity of the head, neck, and flippers are positioned to shift a vertical projection of the overall center of gravity of the robot to at least one step span in front of the rearmost main track ground contact point and at least one step span behind the foremost flipper track ground contact point; and
(ii) an unstable stair ascending position in which the centers of gravity of the head, neck, and flippers are positioned to shift a vertical projection of the overall center of gravity of the robot to outside the stable range.
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Abstract
Configurations are provided for vehicular robots or other vehicles to provide shifting of their centers of gravity for enhanced obstacle navigation. Various head and neck morphologies are provided to allow positioning for various poses such as a stowed pose, observation poses, and inspection poses. Neck extension and actuator module designs are provided to implement various head and neck morphologies. Robot control network circuitry is also provided.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A robot capable of addressing various obstacles, the robot comprising:
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a chassis defining a central open volume and having a chassis center of gravity; a steerable drive supporting the chassis; a set of driven flippers, each flipper having a proximal end, a distal end, and a flipper center of gravity therebetween, each the proximal end of each flipper coupled to the chassis near the leading end of the chassis; a neck having a pivot end, a distal end, and a neck center of gravity therebetween, the neck pivotable about a second pivot axis substantially at the leading end of the chassis, having at least two tilt axis actuators along a length thereof; and a sensor head at the distal end of the neck, the head having a pivot end, a distal end, and a head center of gravity therebetween, the head pivotable with respect to the neck about a third pivot axis at the distal end of the neck; the neck and sensor head being movable between different configurations including; (i) a stable stair ascending position in which the centers of gravity of the head, neck, and flippers are positioned to shift a vertical projection of the overall center of gravity of the robot to at least one step span in front of the rearmost main track ground contact point and at least one step span behind the foremost flipper track ground contact point; and (ii) an unstable stair ascending position in which the centers of gravity of the head, neck, and flippers are positioned to shift a vertical projection of the overall center of gravity of the robot to outside the stable range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A robot comprising:
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a chassis; a steerable drive supporting the chassis; a neck extension removably coupled to the chassis by a neck connector; a pan link extension having proximal and distal ends and being coupled to the neck extension at the proximal end with a first tilt axis actuator, the pan link extension having a one-axis actuator along a length thereof, the pan link extension having at least one angled bend; and a sensor head coupled to the distal end of the pan link extension with a second tilt axis actuator, the sensor head movable using the first and second tilt axis actuators and the pan one-axis actuator; wherein the neck connector comprises; a connector base attached to the chassis; a neck connector piece attached to the neck extension; and a tool-less connector configured to releasably couple the connector base to the neck connector piece with substantially zero backlash. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification