LAUSR

Abstract The reconfigurable legged mobile lander (ReLML) integrates both landing and walking modes, promising to be employed in the future extraterrestrial exploration as a counterpart of lander and rover. To tackle the optimization challenge that the ReLML possesses sixteen design parameters with multi-mode and complex mechanism topology: (1) this study firstly presents a systematic optimum dimension design strategy named after multi-mode synergistic optimization (MMSO), utilizing the functional sequences and kinematic decoupling to simplify the complex optimization issue into sub-issues of sub-mechanisms in sub-modes from landing to walking. After employing the design space dimensionality-reduction method (DSDRM), the metamorphic execution mechanism, overall lander, and multi-mode transmission mechanism are optimized successively; (2) then, four optimization models are established for the optimal comprehensive performance demands of landing and walking modes. To improve the performance chart-based design methodology (PCbDM) limiting at most four parameters, the DSDRM-based PCbDM is implemented for the global visualized optimization by four iterations of PCbDM. Finally, all global optimum dimensions of ReLML are identified. This work can also provide references for the dimensional synthesis of metamorphic mechanism, multi-mode mechanism, and reconfigurable mechanism.