Development of jumping mechanism for a portable guard robot

A guard robot should be small-sized and lightweight to increase its portability. In addition, it should be able to overcome relatively high obstacles to cope with different situations. A small two-wheeled robot capable of jumping can satisfy these requirements because the jumping robot can reach a high place more rapidly than other locomotion methods. This research proposes a small robot equipped with the jumping mechanism based on a conical spring. Both the clutch mechanism and conical spring are incorporated into the jumping mechanism. In the clutch mechanism, the spring can be compressed and released instantly by a single actuator together with a planetary gear train and a one-way clutch. The proposed jumping robot can overcome obstacles that are higher than its height. Various tests demonstrate the performance of the proposed guard robot.