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What is a robot chassis?

June. 12, 2025

Robot chassis is the basic structural platform of robots, which mainly assumes the role of supporting the robot body, providing mobility and integrating key functional components. It is the core part of the robot to realize autonomous movement, positioning and navigation and task execution, especially in the field of service robots, industrial AGV (automatic guided vehicle), special robots and other critical.


The chassis is the core of the robot hardware, carrying almost all the key parts except software functions, such as drive wheels, suspension systems and sensors (including LiDAR, vision sensors, ultrasonic sensors and infrared sensors, etc.) in the hardware, and through the corresponding algorithms and software to achieve autonomous movement, localization and navigation and obstacle avoidance, etc., without a sturdy and powerful chassis, the robot will not be able to complete its design tasks. Without a strong and powerful chassis, the robot will not be able to fulfill its design tasks.


The R&D cycle of mobile chassis is long and the cost of trial and error is high. If there is a lack of sustained capital investment as well as long-term accumulation of supply chain and technology, it is difficult for enterprises to realize profitable growth.For startups, independent research and development of mobile chassis not only faces huge pressure on resources, but also comes with high risks.Therefore, choosing a mature chassis solution already in the market is a more efficient and pragmatic development path.


Core Functions

Carrying and supporting: As the physical carrier of the robot components, it needs to have enough mechanical strength and stability to carry sensors, actuators, batteries and other modules.

Mobility: The motion of the robot is realized through the drive system (e.g. motor, tracks, wheels), including forwarding, steering, obstacle avoidance, etc. Different scenarios require different mobility methods (e.g. wheels) to be adapted. Different scenarios need to be adapted to different mobility modes (e.g. wheeled, tracked).

Environment Sensing and Localization: Integrate sensors such as LIDAR, camera, IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) for SLAM, localization and obstacle detection.

Motion control: Coordination of the powertrain through a controller (e.g. embedded system or industrial computer) for precise speed and direction control and path planning.

Energy supply: Usually carries a battery pack and provides power distribution and management for other modules.


According to application scenarios and functional requirements, robot chassis can be divided into wheeled chassis, tracked chassis, and hybrid chassis, each of which has its own unique advantages and limitations:


Wheeled Chassis

Wheeled chassis is the most common type of robot chassis, which is popular due to its smoothness, low motion noise and easy maintenance.

Front Wheel Steering + Rear Wheel Drive: Simple structure, low control cost, but large turning radius and limited flexibility for simple applications with limited budget.

Two-wheel drive + gimbals: high flexibility, simple structure and control, suitable for indoor service robots. For example, SLAMTEC's ZEUS chassis uses this design to support centimeter-level accuracy for map building and autonomous obstacle avoidance.

Four-wheel drive: Provides strong linear motion capability and drive force, suitable for scenarios requiring high loads, but is more costly, complex to control, and requires fine design to prevent slippage.

Wheeled chassis are suitable for flat surfaces, such as indoor environments or smooth outdoor surfaces, but may not perform well on steep or rough terrain.



Tracked Undercarriage

Tracked undercarriages use continuous tracks instead of wheels, providing better traction and stability, and are particularly suited to complex terrain such as sandy, muddy or uneven surfaces.However, tracked undercarriages are slower, noisier and more expensive to maintain, and are often used for specialized robots such as rescue or exploration robots.

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How do I know which type of chassis is more suitable for our usage environment?

Please combine the scene requirements, technical parameters, cost budget and other multi-dimensional analysis, answer the following questions

1. Scene type: industrial (e.g. factory, warehouse), service (e.g. hospital, shopping mall), special (e.g. disaster site), scientific research?

2. Key question: In which kind of terrain/environment do robots mainly operate? (e.g. flat ground, grass, stairs, rubble)

3. Core Functions: Is high load handling required? Does it rely on complex terrain to cross obstacles? Does it require high precision positioning?

Example: Logistics warehouse needs high-frequency transportation, hospital needs obstacle avoidance and silence, rescue needs complex terrain adaptability.

4. Technical indicators: endurance, movement speed, positioning accuracy, maximum load, environmental adaptability (e.g. waterproof and dustproof level).

5. Pain point excavation: Have you encountered problems that cannot be solved by the existing chassis? (e.g. insufficient obstacle-crossing ability, large navigation error)

6. Budget and Delivery Cycle: Do you accept customized development? Do you need an open source platform (e.g. ROS compatible) to reduce the cost of secondary development?

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