Design and Development of a Multi-Modal Robot for Inspection and Search in Unstructured Environments

Abstract

Complex natural disasters and severe industrial accidents create challenging environments for search and rescue (SAR) operations. Navigating these environments often exceed the capabilities of single-modal robots, resulting in a critical “capability-environment” mismatch. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a compact triphibious platform designed for multi-domain inspection and search missions. Unlike complex hybrids, our design integrates three propulsion modes to enhance adaptability with minimal structural overhead. We establish a unified modeling framework utilizing a 12-dimensional state representation to derive domain-specific kinematics, complemented by stability analysis to ensure longitudinal and lateral terrestrial equilibrium. To maximize traversability, we define a global operational space and implement a Finite State Machine to orchestrate robust cross-domain transitions through complex barriers. Extensive experiments, from fundamental verification to full-mission outdoor trials, demonstrate the system's efficacy. Results confirm that the robot successfully negotiates environments where traditional bi-modal systems fail, offering a holistic solution for multi-domain inspection and search.