Kinematic Design, Analysis and Simulation of a Hybrid Robot with Terrain and Aerial Locomotion Capability

Having only one type of locomotion mechanism limits the stability and locomotion capability of a mobile robot on irregular terrain surfaces. One of the possible solution to this is combining more than one locomotion mechanisms in the robot. In this paper, robotic platform composed of a quadruped module for terrain locomotion and quadrotor module for aerial locomotion is introduced. This design is inspired by the way which birds are using their wings and legs for stability in slopped and uneven surfaces. The main idea is to combine the two systems in such a way that the strengths of both subsystems are used, and the weakness of the either systems are covered. The ability of the robot to reach the target position quickly and to avoid large terrestrial obstacles by flying expands its application in various areas of search and rescue. The same platform can be used for detailed 3D mapping and aerial mapping which are very helpful in rescue operations. In particular, this paper presents kinematic design, analysis and simulation of such a robotic system. Simulation and verification of results are done using MATLAB.