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Abstract
A modular universal unit (MUU) is developed for snake-like robots, which has 3 d.o.f. with a series of passive rollers around its cylindrical shell. Among those d.o.f., pitching and yawing are actuated by means of differential gears to accomplish a large ratio of propulsion to mass. The series of passive rollers around the cylindrical aluminum shell of the MUU form another large wheel that can be used as a driving wheel of mobile robots. The snake-like robot composed of those MUUs has more powerful propulsion and higher mobility. By connecting MUUs in different forms, we can also realize a connected mobile platform or a manipulator in addition to a snake-like robot. Owing to it having 3 d.o.f., two or more MUUs can be connected to make up many mobile robots or form a manipulator that exhibits high mobility and agility. Some typical reconfigurable robots composed of these MUUs are analyzed for locomotion control. Finally, the locomotion experiments and simulations are given to show the characteristics of this MUU.
