In recent years, increased number of researches has been done on mobile robots to increase the performance of service robots. Mobile robots can maximize the mobility of service robots, allowing them to work in many different areas. However, often, the...
In recent years, increased number of researches has been done on mobile robots to increase the performance of service robots. Mobile robots can maximize the mobility of service robots, allowing them to work in many different areas. However, often, the center of the mass of a service robot is placed high above the ground, which may lead to instability when moving at a high speed. Furthermore, hub-type actuators, which are often used in mobile robots, are too big and heavy for service robots. To cope with these problems, in this study, we propose a mobile robot with a hub-type actuation unit and a variable footprint mechanism. The developed hub-type actuation unit is compact in size, and thus they can be used for service robots. Also, to improve the mobility of the robot, the robot was designed so that it can turn its wheels, allowing it to move in any directions. Furthermore, the use of the variable footprint mechanism further improves the mobility of the robot, allowing it to move freely in a narrow space to carry out various services. On the other hand, to ensure the stability, the robot can expand its footprint when moving at a high speed. Through simulations and experiments, the performance of the proposed mechanism was verified under static and dynamic situations.