—In order to adapt to the complex unstructured
environment, a novel mobile and hopping robot is introduced in
this paper based on the combination of wheel structure and
hopping structure. The robot could choose its motion mode
according to the detected landforms, which increases energy
utilization efficiency and the ability of adaptation, as well as
extending its motion range. The structure of the robot, which
includes the mobile mechanism, taking-off pose adjustment
mechanism, hopping mechanism and main frame, is designed.
Then the movement performance of the robot is analyzed and
the simulation is conducted to prove the correctness and
effectiveness of the structure design of the robot and the
theoretical analysis. The research results show that this robot
can adapt to complex terrain, and it can be used in planetary
exploration and battlefield reconnaissance in the future.