Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a new propeller-type climbing robot called EJBot for climbing various types of structures that include significant obstacles, besides inspection of industrial vessels made of various materials, including non-ferromagnetic material. The inspection includes capturing images for important spots and measuring the wall thickness. Design/methodology/approach The design mainly consists of two coaxial upturned propellers mounted on a mobile robot with four standard wheels. A new hybrid actuation system that consists of propeller thrust forces and standard wheel torques is considered as the adhesion system for this climbing robot. This system generates the required adhesion force to support the robot on the climbed surfaces. Dynamic simulation using ADAMS is performed and ensures the success of this idea. Findings Experimental tests to check the EJBot’s capabilities of climbing different surfaces, such as smooth, rough, flat and cylindrical surfaces like the real vessel, are successfully carried out. In addition, the robot stops accurately on the climbed surface at any desired location for inspection purposes, and it overcomes significant obstacles up to 40 mm. Practical implications This proposed climbing robot is needed for petrochemical and liquid gas vessels, where a regular inspection of the welds and the wall thickness is required. The interaction between the human and these vessels is dangerous and not healthy due to the harmful environment inside these vessels. Originality/value This robot utilizes propeller thrusts and wheel torques simultaneously to generate adhesion and traction forces. Therefore, a versatile robot able to climb different kinds of structures is obtained.

As massive scientific information is trapped inside the geologic formation of planetary bodies, the objectives of most exploration missions mainly involve sampling, in-situ testing and analyzing of the cutting's formation for seeking any sign of primitive life or resources. This can be accomplished by subsurface exploration by specific drilling techniques which entail challenges that are apparently more complex than drilling on the earth. One of these challenges is the low-gravity that should be compensated by the over-head mass of the drilling system. This excessive mass represents a burden during launching the mission. Therefore, it is necessary to choose an energy efficient and light-weight drilling system capable of reaching high depths. This article focuses on optimizing drill bit geometry (i.e., profiles, cross-sections, and teeth) of the bio-inspired wood-wasp drill for targeting new potential depths into the Martian regolith and reducing its drilling time. Different morphological designs of the drill bit are generated and experimentally tested for their drilling feasibility into fine and coarse-grain Martian regolith. A Comparison between old and new proposed drill bits is presented, based on drilling time, consumed power, and slope of depth-time curve. The proposed designs show a significant reduction of the drilling time between 20% to 56.5% over the old one, while the required over-head mass (OHM) and power to penetrate 760mm depth is only 3kg and 45 watts, respectively. This practical work reveals the necessity of getting customizable drill bits for each single location of the extraterrestrial surfaces even on Moon or Mars based on its unique character which can be categorized as soft and hard formulations.

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