To realize the autonomous movement of robots, positioning and navigation technology is the key. Because positioning and navigation technology has a high threshold for realization, more and more robot companies are directly developing the upper level based on the robot chassis. It can help robot companies reduce R&D costs and quickly seize market opportunities.
The robot chassis integrates many different sensors, including lidar, vision, ultrasonic, infrared sensors, etc., as well as necessary suspension such as wheels. And the collection of these hardware is the corresponding algorithm and software.
The most important criterion for the stability of the robot chassis is to check the quality of the robot chassis, followed by energy consumption, carrying capacity and subsequent maintenance costs.
Different robot products have different requirements on the chassis. For example, sweeping robots need low-cost laser navigation solutions, other service robots need lidar + vision navigation solutions that combine flexibility and safety, and industrial AGVs need more precise Sexual navigation scheme.
According to the different types of robot chassis, currently, the robot chassis on the market are mainly divided into crawler and wheeled robot chassis.
Tracked robot chassis
The crawler robot chassis is used more on special robots, and can be applied to the field and urban environment. It can move on various complex ground, such as sand and mud, but the speed is relatively low and the movement noise is relatively large.
Wheeled robot chassis
Wheeled robot chassis is currently the most widely used chassis for service robot companies, mainly including front-wheel steering and rear-wheel differential drive, two-wheel drive + universal wheel, and four-wheel drive.
1. Front wheel steering + rear wheel drive
The front-wheel steering + rear-wheel drive wheeled robot chassis mainly uses electric cylinders, worm gears and other forms to realize front-wheel steering. Only a motor plus a differential reducer on the rear wheels can complete the robot's movement requirements. It has the advantages and disadvantages of low cost and simple control, but the disadvantage is that the turning radius is large and the use is relatively inflexible.
2. Two-wheel drive + universal wheel
The two-wheel drive + universal wheel can arrange the universal wheel and the driving wheel in different forms according to the robot's requirements for the design center of gravity and turning radius. The structure and motor control are relatively simple, the robot is more flexible, and the algorithm is easy to control.
3. Four-wheel drive
The four-wheel drive has a strong ability to walk in a straight line, and the driving force is relatively large, but the cost is too high, and the motor control is more complicated. In order to prevent the robot from slipping, a more elaborate structural design is required.
In terms of flexibility, the wheeled robot chassis with two-wheel drive + universal wheels has more advantages. The robot chassis ZEUS of Silan Technology adopts this structure design. It can perform functions such as autonomous positioning and mapping, path planning, and autonomous obstacle avoidance, and can shuttle freely between various obstacles.
As the leader of the chassis industry, the ZEUS robot chassis can not only recognize the surrounding environment, but also clearly understand its location. At the same time, it uses SharpEdge composition technology to construct a centimeter-level high-precision map.
In addition to the self-developed radar and positioning and navigation system, ZEUS is also equipped with depth cameras, ultrasound, and anti-drop sensors to ensure the safe operation of the robot and prevent the robot from colliding.
Of course, ZEUS not only provides the most basic walking ability for the robot, but also supports multiple functions such as virtual walls and virtual tracks, autonomous return charging, third-party application expansion, floor mapping navigation, and automatic elevator control.
In the current situation of the increasingly hot robotics industry, the emergence of robot chassis has undoubtedly lowered the barriers for other companies to enter the robotics industry, and at the same time, it also pave the way for the large-scale development of mobile robots.