Mechanical Design and development of a new version of Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot (M4)

Abstract

This thesis presents the complete design, fabrication, and experimental validation of a new version of Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot (M4), a robotic system capable of transitioning between wheeled, aerial, and morphing locomotion, which was reported in July 2023. Developed to operate in extreme environments such as planetary terrains and disaster zones, the M4 robot embodies a unified design philosophy centered on appendage repurposing, structural morphing, and energy-efficient autonomy. This thesis specifically targets a fully embedded hardware architecture, leveraging 3D-printed structural components, modular assemblies, and integrated actuation via servo motors and BLDC-driven propellers. The system is designed to support multiple operational modes—including chassis bridging, flattening, dynamic balancing, and morphing flight—enabled through coordinated reconfiguration of shared appendages. This work also aims to address core challenges in scalability, robustness, and redundancy manipulation in the original design.