TRANSFORMING SPHERICAL ROBOTS

Transforming spherical robots (TSR) has the potential to significantly advance the field of robotics by offering new possibilities for locomotion, kinematics, dynamics, and control. These robots have the ability to transform their shape to suit different environments, which makes them ideal for tasks not feasible with conventional fixed morphology spherical robots, such as those in uneven terrain where vertical mobility is required. This paper seeks to integrate and advance transformation design theory with the design of reconfigurable or TSR. The paper utilises an inductive research methodology to propose an approach to design TSR, by a) identifying the operators for spherical robots and associating relative movement between the parts using kinematic joints, and b) using the existing transformation design theory for mapping the concepts facilitators with the transforming reconfigurable spherical robots. Moreover, design evaluations based on the cost of transformation is proposed based on the mechanical cost of implementation, which consists of additional mechanical complexity and the amount of energy required for transformation. The integrated guidelines provided are demonstrated with the ideation of a spherical robot for monitoring the interior of a duct. The limitation of the proposed design approach for TSR are also highlighted. A proof of concept of TSR for pipe inspection are shown with its experiment.