MANEUVERING ROBOTIC VEHICLES HAVING A POSITIONABLE SENSOR HEAD
First Claim
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1. A method performed by a robot for addressing various obstacles, the method comprising:
- assuming a stable stair ascending position, wherein;
the robot comprises;
a chassis having a chassis center of gravity;
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; 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; and
in the stable stair ascending position, 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
assuming 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.
8 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method performed by a robot for addressing various obstacles, the method comprising:
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assuming a stable stair ascending position, wherein; the robot comprises; a chassis having a chassis center of gravity; 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; 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; and in the stable stair ascending position, 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 assuming 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, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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- 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising moving the sensor head to point the sensor face approximately parallel to the neck in a stowed position.
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3-1. (canceled)
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10. A method performed by a robot for ascending an obstacle, the method comprising:
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approaching the obstacle by traveling in a forward direction towards a leading end of a chassis of the robot; raising a set of driven flippers coupled to the chassis near the leading end of the chassis; mounting the obstacle using a steerable drive supporting the chassis and the set of driven flippers to a position where a robot combined CG is over a top edge of the obstacle; pivoting a neck extension and a pan link extension to move the robot combined CG forward, the neck extension removably coupled to the chassis by a neck connector, the pan link extension having proximal and distal ends being coupled to the neck extension at a proximal end of the neck extension with a first tilt access actuator, the pan link extension having a sensor head coupled to a distal end of the pan link extension; and completing the ascension by driving the steerable drive and the driven flippers. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification