TriRock6W: Autonomous Mobile Robot With Six Wheels, Three Rocker Arms in Complex Environments

ABSTRACT Autonomous mobile robots are increasingly used to replace humans in long‐term, high‐frequency, and repetitive tasks. However, large‐scale, high‐dynamics, and diverse terrain significantly challenge the stable application of mobile robots in complex environments. In this paper, we design and develop TriRock6W, a mobile robot for outdoor complex environments. The robot adopts a unique configuration with six wheels and three rocker‐arms that passively adapts to terrain, enabling enhanced mobility and obstacle‐crossing capability. A tightly coupled LiDAR SLAM system is developed to integrate mapping and re‐localization, where multi‐source feature registration improves robustness and a keyframe‐based feature map enhances re‐localization efficiency. Moreover, a hierarchical obstacle avoidance strategy is employed to ensure safety during navigation in highly dynamic environments. For long‐term application, we proposes a SLAM‐based adaptive PID controller that enables autonomous charger docking, assisted by a V‐shaped passive guiding mechanism for safe and stable docking process. Extensive experiments were conducted to evaluate the robot's capabilities, demonstrating reliable performance in complex environments. Notably, the robot underwent field trials over 8‐months in densely populated complex environments, validating its suitability for long‐term deployment.