SHL Transport 4WD

Last crawled date: 7 months, 3 weeks ago

The challenge proposed for the transport of the Common Habitat can be solved in many ways, we can redesign a kind of Super Athlete, or with the same robotic approach we can replicate, for example, the movement of a spider's legs, but many actuators and complicated control software would be required. Since "Less is more" why not use the good old four wheels? To paraphrase Archimedes: "Give me four wheels and I will transport the world!". However trucks need roads and this is not our case. For off-road movement the problem was solved by adopting large diameter wheels, such as in agricultural machinery or large trucks that transport minerals in open-pit mines, larger they are, more are able to overcome the irregularities of ground which can be hard and rocky like on Mars, or fine and dusty like lunar regolith.
I therefore propose four wheels with a diameter of approximately 2.4 meters built similar of those adopted in the Lunar Rover of the 70s using an initial wire mesh to prevent intrusion of debris and a series of flexible titanium tubes which, by springing, absorb irregularities ion the ground. Finally a series of cleats to increase grip like on the wheels of agricultural machinery. Each wheel is implemented with a gear motor for rotation, a screwjack for lifting and lowering and an actuator for max steering. 45°.
In this way it will be possible to travel in both directions with the wheels in agreement, or in front steering, or with stationary front wheels and rear steering (as in transport forklifts), or finally all four wheels in steering for oblique lateral movement.
Each wheel can raise or lower for a maximum stroke of 700 mm to overcome boulders or potholes. Adequate control sensors will keep the load as level as possible.
The total mass, wheels plus saddles is less than 20,000 kg