Inspection platform for applications in humanitarian demining

Abstract

The inspection platform that is described in this manuscript consists of a hexapod walking robot designed by the Centre for Automation and Robotics CSIC-UPM, Spain. This inspection platform will load a scanning manipulator arm which, in turn, carries a metal detector on its tool centre point. With the integration of both, hexapod robot and scanning manipulator, several test tasks about the search and localisation of antipersonnel mines will be carried out, within a controlled environment. The SCARA configuration of the hexapod robot legs will allow low energy consumption when the robot executes gaits on flat terrain or with reduced slope, due the decoupling of gravitational effects. This legged robot has a mass about 250 kg, and it can bear a high payload up to about 300 kg. Considering this load characteristic then the vibrational effects on the scanning manipulator will be reduced, when this carry out scanning tasks over the terrain.