Design and Implementation of a Locomotion Suspension System for a Desert Terrain UGV

Abstract

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are currently used to collect data and deliver payloads across industries. Most wheeled UGV implementations for uneven terrain are based on a combination of rocker and bogie. This paper proposes a variation of a suspension system for locomotion suitable for desert terrain. This variation is the transformation of the traditional inclined bogies parallel to the ground surface as the front of the rover, along with an additional transversal bogie as the rear of the robot. The design parameters, material selection, and fabrication process were performed to achieve the highest possible performance of the UGV in navigation on desert terrain. To test stability and obstacle climbing ability, experiments were carried out in desert terrain and concrete surfaces.