Wheeled Mobile Platform for Stair Climbing Applications of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs)

Unmanned warfare is gradually becoming a reality globally. Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) are used by territorial armies in cross country as well as structured environment for different operations e.g. hazardous material handling or disruption of IEDs. Mobility of platform is very crucial while performing such tasks. UGVs will encounter staircases in urban structured environment. Stairs facilitates traveling over large vertical distances are convenient for human beings. However, transportation of wheeled carriers over stairs is still a difficult task. This is particularly true where the load to be carried is heavy. This paper presents the modeling, design and analysis of stair climbing wheeled platform for UGVs application. The advantages of design and potential applications of this platform are discussed.