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A Reconfigurable Rocker-Bogie Robot for High Step Climbing and Turning

Summary

This study proposes a reconfigurable rocker-bogie mechanism that achieves efficient turning with few actuators while maintaining high step-climbing capability. A prototype demonstrated zero-radius turning speeds over five times faster than conventional designs, with only 17% of the average wheel torque, and successfully climbed a 40 cm step.

SourcearXiv RoboticsAuthor: Kento Koizumi, Tomoaki Ohba, Yuta Saito, Takeya Morito, Kenji Suzuki
A Reconfigurable Rocker-Bogie Robot for High Step Climbing and Turning
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[Submitted on 2 Jul 2026]

Title:A Reconfigurable Rocker-Bogie Robot for High Step Climbing and Turning

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Abstract:This study proposes a reconfigurable rocker-bogie mechanism that achieves efficient turning motion with a small number of actuators while maintaining high step-climbing capability. By installing motors at the bogie joints and actively swinging up and down bogies, the system enables switching between four-wheel and six-wheel configurations. Omnidirectional wheels are mounted on the rear ends of the rockers, allowing smooth turning in the four-wheel configuration based on a differential-drive model. Experimental evaluation using a prototype robot demonstrated that the proposed mechanism achieves zero-radius turning at a speed more than five times that of a conventional rocker-bogie mechanism equipped with six non-steerable grip wheels, while requiring only approximately 17% of the total average wheel torque. In addition, the robot successfully climbed a 40 cm step with an average climbing time of 6.4 s, confirming its high turning and step-climbing performance.

Comments: Accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM 2026)

Subjects:

Robotics (cs.RO)

Cite as: arXiv:2607.01554 [cs.RO]

(or arXiv:2607.01554v1 [cs.RO] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.01554

arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

Submission history

From: Kento Koizumi [view email] [v1] Thu, 2 Jul 2026 00:22:50 UTC (3,700 KB)

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Key points

  • Switches between four-wheel and six-wheel configurations via active bogie joint motors.
  • Omnidirectional wheels enable differential-drive turning in four-wheel mode.
  • Zero-radius turning speed improved 5x, torque reduced to 17% of conventional.
  • Climbed a 40 cm step in 6.4 seconds on average.

Highlights and analysis are generated automatically and may contain errors. Check the original source.