Main areas:
- service robotics and AI-based robotics control
- educational robotics, robotic designers
The Tetrabot walking platform for service robotics consists of unique wheel-stepping movers that provide high cross-country ability, debris, rubbish heaps, ditches, as well as staircases. The developed kinematics makes it possible to ensure high clearance and low vibrations both vertically and in the linear velocity of reference points. Analysis and calculations show a significant advantage of these walking modules over biomorphic propulsion systems in terms of energy efficiency and traction characteristics. Energy efficiency is provided by fewer marching engines (one versus three for biomorphic on each limb) and the absence of idle movements while walking.
Traction characteristics are higher due to the fact that at any time each walking walking module of Tetrabot has effective contact with the surface, while robots with biomorphic propulsion devices have contact with the surface during movement only half of their limbs. The robots created on the basis of the Tetrabot walking platform and an autonomous system for adapting to difficult terrain will be in demand in the mining, forestry and agricultural industries, in housing and communal services – for robotic cleaning of territories and flights of stairs, in landfills for primary sorting of garbage, in the Ministry of Emergencies – for searching and salvation of people in the rubble, and in the future for the active development of the Arctic and other planets. To fulfill these and other goals, it will be possible to install the necessary attachments on our walking platform, due to which the walking platform can be transformed into a specialized industrial robot.
Tetrabot company was established in February 2018 with the goal of creating and manufacturing robotics based on new principles of movement. In the same year, the company receives Skolkovo resident status and development grants. Since 2019, development begins in two directions – service and educational robotics.
We have the unique, patented technology of a new cross country principle.
We have all the necessary competencies to create a new generation of robotics
We collect the best personnel and specialists in the field of mechatronics, robotics and artificial intelligence
We have ambitious plans to enter the international markets of service and educational robotics.
Our products have high quality production.
The founders of the company have invaluable experience in creating and developing innovative companies.
The search for developers from the company Tetrabot an effective walking mechanism for moving ground-based robots led to the invention of a wheelless wheel. But before finding a new solution, the company’s engineers analyzed all existing types of land propulsors – from various wheels, tracks and wheel-steer propulsion devices to all kinds of walkers and bio-like mechanisms. The task was to find or create the most versatile propulsion device on which a mobile robot could quickly overcome obstacles, move along stairs and at the same time have high efficiency and compact dimensions. The wheeled chassis is an absolute favorite when you need to move on a flat and solid surface. But when driving on rough and shaky terrain, energy consumption increases sharply, since the wheel lays a continuous track, spends more energy on crushing the ground and can not overcome relatively low obstacles. Huge wheels were not considered due to unacceptable size and heavy weight.
Approximately the same disadvantages of caterpillars are their large size and weight. In addition, in the crawler mover, part of the energy is lost on the internal friction of the track and the friction on the rollers, part is lost during maneuvering, when turning, the tracks are forced to turn over the entire supporting surface, which also leads to quick wear of the tracks.
Bio-like walking structures maneuver perfectly, have increased adaptability to road bumps .. The most prominent representatives are the big dog, spot mini, ANYmal and other analogues. But they also have their drawbacks. High energy costs – a lot of servos, sensors and neurochips consume a lot of precious energy. Raising and lowering legs also consumes energy since energy recovery during lowering legs in these designs is ineffective. And the pendulum movements of the legs and the need for constant terrain analysis reduce the speed of movement. In addition, the high cost of such robots is not an unimportant factor.
The main disease of wheel-stepping movers is vibrations and tremors that occur during the walking process. And if you rotate a simple tripod, then the oscillations of the axis will reach 50% of the length of the legs. Moreover, spurious oscillations are manifested not only vertically, but also for the speed of reference points. And if for small robots these vibrations can be ignored due to the light weight of the robot and flexible joints, then for larger and more powerful counterparts, the vibrations turn into destructive for the structure, engines and mechanisms of the robot. And if it is a courier robot, then the same is for transported goods. Therefore, the main emphasis was placed on the development of a mechanism of a wheel-step propulsion with a compensator for spurious oscillations.
As a result, after several months of searching, a solution was found. Thanks to the original compact vibration compensator, the problem was solved. The optimal parameters of the mechanism reduced vertical vibrations to 5%, and the speed fluctuations of reference points to 6.5%. To move along an uneven surface, these residual vibrations are almost imperceptible.
The developed mechanisms are perfect for creating small and inexpensive robots. And today, it’s the robotic, educational designers that are most in demand – after all, robotics is the profession of the future. In addition, the designer being developed will include not only mechanical components and electronics, but also the unique software product “Artificial Intelligence Designer”, which will make it easy to connect various recognition modules and decision-making modules. We can say that on the designer, users will be able to test modern solutions in the field of artificial intelligence before these solutions are installed on powerful service robots. Thus, the educational designer will help to test many different software solutions and choose the most successful and optimal solutions that will be ported to service and industrial robotics.
