Inspirat – Towards a Biologically Inspired Climbing Robot for the Inspection of Linear Structures

Maempel, Joerg; Andrada, Emanuel; Trommer, Christian Dipl.-Ing.; Karguth, Andreas; Fischer, Martin S.; Voigt, Dagmar; Gorb, Stanislav N.

doi:10.1142/9789812835772_0025

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Regarding the mechanical structure of these robots, two main groups can be distinguished -inchworm-type robots [1][2][3] which usually consist of two grippers and an arm in between; and wheeled pole-climbing robots [4][5][6] which usually combine a passive clamping mechanisms for convex structures with motorized wheels at one or several contact points. Specific types of poles can also be climbed with other mechanisms such as penetration with spines 2 (Spinybot II [7], for trees) or magnetic adhesion (MagneBike [8], for steel towers).…”

Section: Overview On the Basic Groups Of Pole-climbing Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wheeled Pole-Climbing-Robot With High Payload Capability, Using a Clamping Mechanism Which Is Inspired by the Rope-Clamps in Human Climbing

Fischer

Siegwart

2010

Emerging Trends in Mobile Robotics

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This paper describes the concept, design and prototype implementation of a wheeled pole-climbing-robot with high payload capability, which is planned for climbing palm trees, masts of telephone cables or lamp posts. It uses a new clamping mechanism which is mainly inspired by the rope-clamps that are used for human climbing (common name: "jumars"). By adapting this principle to the field of wheeled pole-climbing robots, a very high payload capability can be achieved -without any additional constraints concerning the stiffness of springs or the position of the robot's center of mass. After an introduction chapter that points to the importance of the above-mentioned advantages in specific applications and the drawbacks of previous designs; the basic mechanical principle of the clamping mechanism is explained with a 2D calculation model. This analysis is followed by the description of the first prototype robots: A preliminary prototype at small size for proving the functionality of the concept; and the conceptual design of a pole-climbing robot for real industrial applications -planned for pole-diameters from Ø0.2 to Ø0.5m and a payload capability of up to 100kg. The paper concludes with successful experiments that have been performed with the prototype robot at small size, and a discussion of the most critical components for the planned design at big size.

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Section: Overview On the Basic Groups Of Pole-climbing Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wheeled Pole-Climbing-Robot With High Payload Capability, Using a Clamping Mechanism Which Is Inspired by the Rope-Clamps in Human Climbing

Fischer

Siegwart

2010

Emerging Trends in Mobile Robotics

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“…The alternative of using magnets in the structure instead of magnetic wheels [5], which is slightly more dirt-resistant than magnetic wheels, had to be rejected as well, as these robots usually do not achieve the required mobility for the difficult topology that is formed by the uneven surface of several tubes and the specific geometry of the coal nozzles. Alternatives locomotion and adhesion-principles have been considered as well: Legged [6] or inchworm-type-robots [7][8][9], feet that grasp on features [8,9], spines [10] or other principles for adhesion. However, they were not analyzed into more detail, as the typical speed of these robots is relatively slow; and robust industrial solutions are not commercially available yet.…”

Section: Drawbacks Of Using Classical Climbing Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both the steps towards controlling the micro-helicopter for this operation and the final changes on the magnetic foot are currently under development. Apart from this application, a slightly modified version of the here presented magnetic foot could be used in classical climbing robots with legged or inchworm locomotion [6][7][8][9][10] as well -taking advantage of the excellent ratio between adhesion-force and mass, the simple control and the good scalability of the system.…”

Section: Conclusion and Outlook To Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lightweight Magnetic Foot With Variable Force, for Docking/Landing With Micro-Helicopters on Rust-Covered Walls in Boiler Furnaces

Fischer

Hürzeler

Siegwart

2010

Emerging Trends in Mobile Robotics

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This paper describes the design, implementation and application of a lightweight magnetic foot with variable force, which was developed for docking/landing on vertical walls with a micro-helicopter in order to perform inspection tasks there; and afterwards undock to fly away without problems. Even if not being a complete climbing robot, the magnetic foot on the helicopter uses technologies which were originally developed for climbing robots, operates in an environment which is difficult to access (furnaces in coalfired boilers) and could be useful for future climbing robots with inchworm-locomotion. By using a lightweight actuation concept based on miniature pulley-wire-transmissions, a simple and robust control strategy and a mechanical design that is well shielded against ferromagnetic dust or other types of aggressive dirt; the here presented magnetic foot with variable adhesion force achieves several advantages over previous designs -such as an excellent compromise concerning lightweight design at strong adhesion force (Fadh,max/(m*g)>100), robustness against most environmental hazards, low residual force (Fadh,max/Fred<30) and low manufacturing cost. After explaining the environment constraints, the basic concept of docking with an unmanned micro-helicopter and the requirements for the magnetic foot; a brief overview on most principles for force variation in magnetic feet is provided. This comparison is followed by the presentation of the basic design concept and its implementation in a prototype. The paper concludes with the measured values of this prototype and provides an outlook on future work and how this technology can be used in other applications.

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“…Due to the space requirements of control hardware, energy source, and communication devices, rigid body constructions were made. But zoological studies show that the locomotion of vertebrates is mainly driven by a flexible trunk [4,6,15].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This locomotion principle can be observed in rats as well as in caterpillars. Therefore, the model was reduced to two functional elements: driving elements (locomotion, trunk) and grasping elements (to define contacts between the system and the substrate) [11].…”

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confidence: 99%

A Modular Concept for a Biologically Inspired Robot

Mämpel

Eisold

Kempf

et al. 2009

Robot Motion and Control 2009

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Inspirat – Towards a Biologically Inspired Climbing Robot for the Inspection of Linear Structures

Cited by 14 publications

References 0 publications

Wheeled Pole-Climbing-Robot With High Payload Capability, Using a Clamping Mechanism Which Is Inspired by the Rope-Clamps in Human Climbing

Wheeled Pole-Climbing-Robot With High Payload Capability, Using a Clamping Mechanism Which Is Inspired by the Rope-Clamps in Human Climbing

Lightweight Magnetic Foot With Variable Force, for Docking/Landing With Micro-Helicopters on Rust-Covered Walls in Boiler Furnaces

A Modular Concept for a Biologically Inspired Robot

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