for mobileRobotIn other words, the chassis is a very important actuator, responsible for the movement and steering of the Robot, and is the actuator of the Robot. Driven by the wave of intelligence, the mobile robot market continues to heat up, and a sub-category of mobile chassis has also been born.
Crawler, wheeled – the two major structures of the mobile chassis
The robot chassis carries the basic functions of the robot itself such as positioning, navigation and obstacle avoidance, which can help the robot to realize intelligent walking. With the continuous expansion of mobile robot application scenarios and service models, the demand for mobile chassis for upper-level development based on the underlying application of robots is also growing.
At present, the mobile robot chassis on the market is mainly divided into two types: tracked and wheeled robot chassis.
The crawler robot chassis is mainly used in special robots. It has the advantages of large traction, not easy to slip, and good off-road performance. It can be used in wild and urban environments, and can move on various complex ground, such as sand and mud. The speed is relatively low, and the motion noise is loud.
Wheeled robot chassis is mainly used inindustryLogistics and Commerceservice robotOn the body, such as logistics handling robots and food delivery service robots, most of them use the wheeled robot chassis structure. The wheeled robot chassis has the advantages of fast movement speed and low movement noise, and is suitable for applications in general indoor and outdoor scenarios.
The wheeled robot chassis is divided into front-wheel steering rear-wheel differential drive, two-wheel drive + universal wheel, and four-wheel drive.
1. Front wheel steering + rear wheel drive, front wheel steering + rear wheel drive wheeled robot chassis mainly uses electric cylinders, worm gears and other forms to achieve front wheel steering, and only one rear wheel is required.motorCoupled with the differential speed reducer, the movement requirements of the robot can be completed. It has advantages and disadvantages such as low cost and simple control, but the disadvantage is that the turning radius is large and the use is relatively inflexible.
2. Two-wheel drive + universal wheel, two-wheel drive + universal wheel can be arranged in different forms according to the robot’s requirements for the design center of gravity and turning radius, and the structure and motor control are relatively simple. The flexibility is strong, and the algorithm is easy to control.
3. Four-wheel drive. Four-wheel drive has strong ability to walk in a straight line and has a relatively large driving force, but the cost is too high and the motor control is more complicated. In order to prevent the robot from slipping, a more refined structure design is required.
In addition to the driving part, the mobile chassis needs to integrate many different sensors such as lidar, vision, ultrasonic, and infrared sensors. Technologists need to use corresponding algorithms and software for fusion. It can be said that the completion of the chassis work is basically equivalent to the completion of about 70% of the development work of the robot body. The chassis research and development capabilities have undoubtedly adjusted the entry threshold of the robot industry to a very high position.
Lowering the market threshold, commercial services have become the main field
The emergence of professional mobile chassis enterprises has undoubtedly lowered the entry threshold for the mobile robot industry, and has also played a certain role in promoting the large-scale application of mobile robots.
At present, the mobile chassis companies in the market are mainly oriented to the service robot market and special application industries. Although there are some in the industrial field, but very few, this is mainly because the application of AGV in the industrial field is very mature, there are many enterprises, and the technology accumulation is also very rich. , so most of the products are finished products that are directly oriented to end-use applications, and dedicated chassis providers are relatively uncompetitive in this market.
The field of service robots is the main market for chassis manufacturers at present. Service robots are an emerging field, and everyone is in the exploratory stage. The emergence of special chassis can save development time and cost, while also speeding up product development. The rapid growth of the market for service robots. Therefore, with the continuous expansion of service robot application scenarios and service modes, the demand for service robot chassis based on the bottom-level application of robots for upper-level development is getting stronger and stronger.
In addition, it is worth noting that some chassis manufacturers are gradually transforming into end product providers. As mentioned above, the completion of the chassis work is basically equivalent to completing about 70% of the robot body development work, and the remaining 30%. It is not difficult for chassis manufacturers who have mastered the core technology. They only need to carry some application designs to develop specific application products. Therefore, at present, many manufacturers have begun to choose one or two directions to launch their own service robot products under the advantages of their own chassis technology.
In fact, mobile chassis still faces some problems if it wants to develop rapidly as an industry. For example, in terms of cost, the price of the chassis is relatively high for robots with higher functional requirements on the market, which will affect the price to a certain extent. The acceptance of the application side, the low-cost trend is inevitable for the robot chassis to achieve breakthroughs and drive the commercialization of service robots. The second is the technical problem. At present, the chassis of service robots generally adopts the general chassis, but as the development of subdivision becomes more and more mature, the requirements for the chassis will be different according to different scenarios. In other words, the future chassis may develop in the direction of specialization, customization and high performance. In this case, Chinese enterprises also need to solve technical problems such as sensor fusion.
On the basis of using visual navigation, mobile robots (AGV) can also increase inertial operation navigation, adapt to various undulating and bumpy routes, and ensure the accuracy of operation. Compared with the previous mobile robot (AGV) using laser, inertial, magnetic stripe and other navigation methods, the cost is low and the precision is high.
The Links: 3HAC058665-001 IGBT
