Automatic insertion system for a searching and rescuing robot in ruins

XV Cao, ZHANG Yanan, SHEN Linyong, XV Jiemin, GONG Zhenbang
(School of Mechatronics Engineering and Automation, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072, China)

Abstract: In order to develop a robot for searching and rescuing in cracks of ruins, and make the robot become a kind of efficient tool oriented to the disasters such as earthquakes, an automatic insertion system for the flexible robot body was investigated. A dualdrive method with a pulling device and a pushing device at both sides of the flexible tube respectively was proposed, to solve the difficulties problem of sending a flexible tube inside narrow cracks. A prototype of mechanism and control was realized for automatic insertion of flexible robot body into narrow space. Test results prove that the robot prototype can work effectively in moving through ruins and realize its rescuing function.
Key words: searching and rescuing robot; flexible tube; insertion system