Using strain gages to assess the bearing properties of underlying surface with a robot crawler

Abstract

Abstract The advent of military robotic systems has raised requirements for control systems, especially independent motion control, in particular, lateral possibility and flotation when moving in partially defined or undefined environment and in the presence of external perturbations. This paper proposes approaches to determine bearing reactions under the dynamic interaction of RV running gear with the bearing surface. It demonstrates a set of gages built into the tracked running gear allowing to evaluate the underlying surface properties. It proposes a computer-aided engineering system based on the finite element method to identify the most efficient locations to install strain gages.