ADAPTIVE SUSPENSION VEHICLE Robot (ASV) – 21003

An adaptive suspension vehicle (ASV) is a specialized robot that uses mechanical limbs to propel itself. It moves on several legs like a gigantic insect. This provides excellent stability and maneuverability. The ASV can carry several hundred kilograms, and moves at 2 to 4 m/s. The machine itself masses 2 to 3 metric tons. It is the size of a small truck, and it can carry a driver or rider.

The design and construction of a robot with legs is considerably more difficult than that of a wheel-driven or track-driven robot, but there is a payoff: the ASV can move over much rougher terrain than any vehicle with wheels or a tack drive.

The Adaptive Suspension Vehicle (ASV) was developed by Kenneth Waldron and his team at Ohio State University from the late 1980s to until recently. Unlike the Walking Truck, the ASV makes heavy use of computers, uses sophisticated vision and scanning systems, and has provided the walking machine community with many insights (Song & Waldron 1989).

However, it can also be considered as unnecessarily complex, and expensive. Also, the lateral stability is limited by a total width of 5.2′. The pantograph leg design does not provide this machine with a clear advantage over, for example, the chassis of a typical front-end loader fitted with oversized tires. As a result, the future of the ASV is uncertain.