Analysis of kinematic characteristics of a mobile caterpillar robot with a SCARA-type manipulator

Automation and robotization of various production and technological processes in many industries is one of the leading trends in the development of modern society. Industrial robots have recently become quite widespread, and it is almost impossible to imagine any modern production in the fields of mechanical engineering (machine building), instrumentation, pharmaceuticals, food, chemical industries, etc., without robotic complexes. Over the past few decades, another area of robotics has emerged: autonomous mobile robots. It combines research in mechanics, electronics, and computer technologies, including artificial intelligence. Among the most common applications of autonomous mobile robots are the performance of various technological operations in places that are dangerous to human life (radiation, biological or chemical contamination) or uninhabitable (space, sea depths, volcanic craters, etc.). Mobile robots have also proven themselves in rescue operations during cataclysms and natural disasters, anti-terrorist operations, military operations, mine clearance, etc. Given the urgency of the issue of mobile robotics development, this article proposes a new design of an autonomous robotic complex built on the basis of a tracked chassis and equipped with a SCARA-type manipulator. The main task of the developed robot is to perform various technological operations in places where human presence is dangerous or impossible, in particular, when performing demining tasks. In the course of the research, the kinematics of the manipulator was analyzed in detail to determine its working area, and the kinematic parameters of the tracked chassis were experimentally tested while it was moving over rough terrain. The obtained results can be used to further improve the design and control system of the robot and manipulator and in the process of determining the specific technological tasks that will be assigned to this robotic platform.