The TAQT Carrier: A Practical Terrain Adaptive Quadru-track Carrier Robot

A newly developed TerrainAdaptive Quadru-Track carrier robot, or 'TAQT Carrier', is described. The TAQT Carrier is 310' kg in weight including a 70 kg battery pack, 1300 mm in length, 860 mm in width and 970 mm in height. It can carry a payload of 100 kg on a level floor and 80 kg on stairs of a maximum incline of 4Odeg. With the battery pack, it is self-sustained and can move continuously around uneven terrain, such as a construction site, under wireless control for about 2 hours. The TAQT Carrier has inherited some technologies introduced in its immediate predecessor, the t errain adaptive qnadru-track vehicle HELIOS-11: It uses 'equilibrium crawlers', crawlers which are connected to the chassis through pivot axles at the centers of the tracks, and it incorporates a coupled drive system for each pair of crawlers to take full advantage of the output power of the motors. New features are a torque sensor which employs photosensors at the planetary gear and a solid and reliable posture control device for operation on steep stairs named the 'RC mechanism'. The RC mechanism maintains the bed in a horizontal orientation and keeps the center of gravity of the vehicle over the central part of the tracks. Preliminary tests have confirmed the high terrain adaptability of the TAQT Carrier Robot.