Design, construction, and testing of a new class of mobile robots.

This thesis introduces a novel mobile robot design concept aimed at exploration of subterranean spaces.

The key innovation is the combination of highly maneuverable body elements with wheel/leg elements (Whegs).

This combination offers performance not possible with conventional "monolithic" wheeled or tracked mobile robots, or with current robot snakes.

The thesis covers four design iterations of the concept, concentrating on describing the overall design process and results from field tests.

Additionally a kinematic analysis of the fourth prototype and implications for future designs is presented.