Material Handling: Engineered Specialized Actuators for an Autonomous Robotic Supply Vehicle, Enabling Omnidirectional Movement and Heavy Load Transport

A military equipment special machine builder had unique requirements for actuators to be used on an autonomous robotic supply vehicle for heavy load transport. They determined that electro-mechanical actuators would not work due to load requirements and inherent shock-loading conditions. They also determined that an HPU with hydraulic cylinder actuators wouldn’t work due to the mobility and energy efficiency they required for this robot.

Kyntronics provided three configurations of actuators based on the force and speed requirements of the specific leg joints (Coxa, Femur, and Tibia joints). The actuators were integrated with RMD’s gait engine control software that utilizes position and force feedback from the actuators to control the legs and the body of the vehicle. The system has demonstrated omnidirectional walking, six DOF body control, and operation on various terrain types while carrying a simulated 2,000 lb. payload.

“Kyntronics worked with the RMD Systems team to design a series of custom actuators tailored to our unique application requirements. The self-contained nature of the actuators provides the power and force of a hydraulic solution with the controllability and ease of integration of an electromechanical solution. The highly integrated design of the actuator allowed us to optimize the design of the robot structure considerably. Kyntronics provided us with state-of-the-art hardware on an accelerated development timeline that helped us complete our deliverables to our defense customer.”

– President and Founder of RMD Systems