Design of Rover Rocker for Push-Roll Locomotion

In summer 2016, I worked under Professor David Wettergreen of CMU’s field robotics center to design a rover rocker capable of push-roll locomotion. Push-roll locomotion is a novel mobility concept in which a rover is able to expand and contract each rocker such that the front and rear wheels can be moved relative to another (resembling the motion of an inchworm, but performed with wheels). I designed a mechanism for testing the efficacy of push-roll locomotion by analyzing the platform’s drawbar pull. I also developed an experimental plan for testing the mechanism in the FRC’s soft soil testbed.