A Multi-Mode Motion Polar Robot: Energy-Saving through Foldable Sail and Transformable Tracks
Yongsheng Luo, Zhaokun Guo, Tao Liu, Kaixuan Li, Jinnong Liao, Lefan Guo, Yanhe Zhu, Gangfeng Liu, Jie Zhao
AI summary
Problem
Existing polar robots suffer from limited energy supplies, hindering long-term scientific exploration, while conventional solar or wind power generation proves inefficient in extreme polar environments.
Approach
A multimode polar robot is designed with a foldable aerodynamic sail for wind assistance and transformable tracks that switch between powered traction and low-resistance sliding to minimize energy use.
Key results
- Foldable sail optimized for aerodynamic assistance and extreme wind stability
- Transformable tracks enabling seamless switching between traction and sliding modes
- System kinematics, dynamics, and stability conditions modeled for multimode control
- Experimental validation demonstrating approximately 24% overall energy-saving rate
Why it matters
Provides a viable energy-efficient mobility solution for long-term autonomous scientific exploration and environmental monitoring in Antarctica.
Abstract
Existing polar robots are constrained by limited en- ergy supply, making it difficult to carry out long-term scientific ex- ploration missions, which highlights an urgent demand for energy conservation. An energy-efficient multimode motion polar robot is proposed to address this challenge. Both increasing external assistance and reducing the driving force are critical for lowering energy consumption. A foldable sail is designed to provide external assistance. When unfolded, the sail generates assistive force. When folded, it maintains stability in extreme polar climates. The sail shape is designed based on a symmetrically extended NACA0018 airfoil, and the influence of different sail parameters on perfor- mance is discussed. The transformable tracks realize switching between traction and sliding modes through the separation of the track and teeth chain, using the sliding mode to reduce driving force. The effect of teeth parameter variations on traction per- formance is analyzed. The system kinematics and dynamics are model, and stability conditions are determined. Based on this, an energy-saving motion control framework for multimode motion is proposed. Finally, experiments are conducted to evaluate the energy-saving contribution of each independent mode under dif- ferent configurations. Comprehensive experiments in multimode motiondemonstrateanoverallenergy-savingrateofapproximately 24%,verifyingtheeffectivenessoftheenergy-savingmotioncontrol strategy.Withitsenergy-savingadvantages,thisrobotshowsstrong potential for enabling long-term scientific exploration in polar regions.