All devices working in hazardous environments have specific requirements to reduce the intervention of human power as much as possible. The robot that this thesis is focused on is no exception to this rule. This dissertation summarized theprocess followed to achieve a theoretical design of a traction system for the CERNBot, the robot that operates at CERN facilities.

This traction system had to be capable of achieving a speed of 10 km/h, going upstairs and make tight turns without draining completely the battery of the device. For that purpose, it was decided to include three types of traction systems such apneumatic wheel, a track system and a mecanum-wheel (an omnidirectional wheel capable of moving in any direction). This design had to include as many commercially available pieces as possible to maintain the costs contained.

In order to comply and extend the battery lifetime as much as possible, topological optimization was applied to the non-commercial pieces, reducing the weight of thepiece by 25%.

After achieving the weight reduction, a discussion about the best manufacturing methodology is done, comparing the manufacture using a CNC machine or casting the device, including the possible defects and costs that both models can have.

The results show that manufacturing this piece with casting can lead to a cheaper and more complex piece.