Abstract
In shallow water environments, traditional technologies face
challenges in retrieving unexploded ordnance (UXO). We present an
innovative and safe alternative robotic platform to replace traditional
divers in this dangerous task. A waterproof eighteen-DOF legged robot
MR. Crab has been developed specifically for the purpose of locating and
recovering UXO. Utilizing walking legs for both locomotion and
manipulation, the robot demonstrates the capability to pick up inert UXO
weighing at 2.78kg (half robot’s mass) with one pair of walking legs and
10.5kg (184% of robot’s mass) when utilizing all three pairs of legs.
To enhance our understanding of the gripping capacity, static analysis
was conducted to predict the maximum weight of graspable UXO with
respect to UXO radii. For easier control, a user-friendly GUI had been
built for remote teleoperation. Additionally, an automatic gripping
algorithm was developed to efficiently place the robot in the optimal
gripping position and then grab the inert UXO.