Mechanism, control, and visual management of a jumping robot

Abstract A new robot, known as the Scoutrobot, is introduced in this paper. It is capable of moving along the ground and jumping over a surmountable obstacle. The Scoutrobot can patrol a harsh environment by rolling or jumping while delivering environmental information to the user. It requires less time and makes use of simpler mechanisms to overcome obstacles compared to conventional robots. The Scoutrobot contains several sensors, including two cameras for distance measurements and ultrasonic sensors for alignment. The jumping motion is performed by releasing a pneumatic cylinder against the ground. The jumping height is controlled with a pulse-width modulation-control mechanism on the pneumatic valve. An automatic lift-up structure is used to recover the robot’s initial pose after it jumps up or down. A robot management system provides a three-dimensional virtual display image of the robot’s location and pose.