초록 ▼

A hybrid robotic vehicle is provided for use in environments which are hazardous to humans, the vehicle being adapted to carry a payload for use in viewing the area or acquiring other types of sensory data. The hybrid robotic vehicle has a main body and four appendages or legs, each of which has a w

A hybrid robotic vehicle is provided for use in environments which are hazardous to humans, the vehicle being adapted to carry a payload for use in viewing the area or acquiring other types of sensory data. The hybrid robotic vehicle has a main body and four appendages or legs, each of which has a wheel assembly and a track assembly, and is configured to operate having three degrees-of-freedom about one vertical and two horizontal axes, the three degrees-of-freedom permitting improved capability to cross obstacle-strewn terrain, as well as to traverse inclined surfaces while maintaining the main body and its payload in an upright and level attitude. The vehicle may operate in any of wheeled, tracked, or legged modes, with actuators controlling each of the three joint angles on each leg, and having separate motors for driving the wheels and the tracks, the control being effected by a human operator through a control panel computer interface, and a computer relaying commands through a cable tether connected to the vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

A hybrid robotic vehicle comprising: a main body; a plurality of legs, each of said plurality of legs (1) comprising a strut assembly having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end being pivotable about a first horizontal axis independently of rotation of a wheel, and wherein a track asse

A hybrid robotic vehicle comprising: a main body; a plurality of legs, each of said plurality of legs (1) comprising a strut assembly having a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end being pivotable about a first horizontal axis independently of rotation of a wheel, and wherein a track assembly on each of said legs is pivotably connected to said distal end of said strut assembly, and (2) being operatively connected to said main body and being pivotable about a vertical axis with respect to said main body; means for selectively operating said vehicle in a wheeled mode, in a tracked mode, or in a legged mode, wherein each of said plurality of legs further comprises a wheel assembly and a track assembly, and wherein said wheel assembly on each of said plurality of legs has driven means for rotating said wheel about said first horizontal axis; and said track assembly on each of said plurality of legs has drive means for driving said track, said track assembly further being pivotable about a second horizontal axis spaced apart at a predetermined distance from said first horizontal axis.