Abstract
This paper describes a climbing robot, using chain-track as the locomotive mechanism and suction cups as the adhesion method. The main structure, sensors, and the vision-based motion control system of the robot are described in the paper. The robot can turn in a limited range by adjusting the steering wheel and twisting the chain. The turning gait is discussed and relations between turning angles of the chain node, the front wheel, and the frame of the robot are formulated. Forces applied to the robot are analyzed in order to obtain a safety condition that prevents the robot from slipping and falling. An experiment is conducted to measure the safety factor of suction cups and determine the payload capacity of the robot.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bahr, B., Li, Y., and Najafi, M.: 1996, Design and suction cup analysis of a wall climbing robot, Computers Elect. Engrg. 22(3), 193–209.
Grieco, J. C., Prieto, M., Armada, M., and Gonzalez de Samtos, P.: 1998, A six-legged climbing robot for high payloads, in: Proc. IEEE ICCA, Trieste, Italy, September, pp. 446–450.
Luk, B. L., Collie, A. A., and Billingsley, J.: 1991, Robug II: An intelligent wall climbing robot, in: Proc. of the 1991 IEEE Internat. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, California, USA, pp. 2342–2347.
Luk, B. L., Collie, A. A., Piefort, V., and Virk, G. S.: 1996, Robug III: A tele-operated climbing and walking robot, in: UKACC Internat. Conf. on Control, IEE No. 427, pp. 347–352.
Nagakubo, A. and Hirose, S.: 1994, Walking running of the quadruped wall-climbing robot, in: Proc. of 1994 IEEE Internat. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, San Diego, USA, pp. 1005–1012.
Nishi, A., Ohkura, M., and Miyagi, H.: 1990, A robot capable of moving on a vertical wall using thrust force, in: Proc. of IEEE Internat. Workshop on Intelligent Robot and Systems, IROS'90, pp. 455–463.
Nishi, A., Wakasugi, Y., and Watanabe, K.: 1986, Design of a robot capable of moving on a vertical wall, Advanced Robotics 1(1), 33–45.
Pack, R. T., Christopher, J. L. Jr. and Kawamura, K.: 1997, A Rubbertuator-based structure-climbing inspection robot, in: Proc. of the 1997 IEEE Internat. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, Albuquerque, NM, pp. 1869–1874. 444 J. ZHU ET AL.
Tso, S. K., Fung, Y. H., Chow, W. L., Zong, G. H., and Liu, R.: 2000, Design and implementation of a glass-wall climbing robot for high-rise buildings, in: Proc. of World Automation Congress, Hawaii, USA, June, Paper ISORA 123.
Wang, Y., Liu, S., Xu, D., Zhao, Y., Shao, H., and Guo, X.: 1999, Development and Application of Wall-Climbing Robots, in: Proc. of the 1999 IEEE Internat. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, Detroit, MI, pp. 1207–1212.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhu, J., Sun, D. & Tso, SK. Development of a Tracked Climbing Robot. Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems 35, 427–443 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022383216233
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022383216233