The Design of Small-scale Material Handling Robots

In the field of modern industrial automation, small-sized material handling robots, as core equipment for material transportation, have a direct impact on the overall operational efficiency of production systems due to their flexibility and efficiency. Traditional handling equipment often faces issues such as poor adaptability and insufficient control accuracy when operating in confined spaces. Therefore, this paper designs a small-sized handling robot based on four-wheel drive. By comparing and analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of rail-based and rail-free handling technologies, it is ultimately determined to adopt the omnidirectional movement scheme with Mecanum wheels. This scheme, combined with the STM32 microcontroller control system and infrared sensing technology, can achieve precise positioning and obstacle avoidance functions of the robot. The paper elaborates in detail on the design points of the walking device and lifting mechanism, and conducts strength checks on key components, with the aim of providing a useful reference for the research and development of small-sized and intelligent handling equipment.