Study on an 8-Wheel Suspension to Enhance the Hill-Climbing Performance for a Planetary Exploration Rover

Planetary exploration rovers are likely to make a trip on a winding and sloping road of irregular surfaces to the destination in order to accomplish scientific missions. One of the key technologies for rovers is a suspension for traveling and performing exploration missions; the suspension is an essential area of technology for a stable movement of a rover. In this study, an 8-wheel suspension is designed to enable efficient climbing of slopes on a passage to the destination. For the two front wheels among the eight wheels, the moment at the pivot connecting two wheels is derived when the distance between the wheels and the torque of wheels are same. A test experiment was performed to compare the magnitude of moment according to the change in tilt angle and the position of the pivot. Finally, a suspension design considering the position of the pivot was proposed to enhance the hill-climbing performance.