A prototype of gecko-inspired wall-climbing robot based on vibration suction mechanism is proposed. The robot adheres to the wall surface based on a novel negative pressure technology named as vibration suction. According to the theory of vibration suction, the vibration suction module is designed as the foot of the wall-climbing robot. In addition, the tripod gait of geckos is taken into account in the motion planning of the robot. By combining the unique properties of vibration suction mechanism and the tripod gait of the geckos, several advantages including stable motion, certain load capacity, anti-overturning ability, and good suction force to the wall surfaces are obtained. The climbing ability is verified by the experiment on the surface of the glass, which manifests that the robot can climb vertically at the highest speed of 13.75 mm/s with a spot turning at the single maximum turning angle of 20°. Potential applications of this proposed climbing robot in some fields include repair, construction, cleaning, and exploration.
ZhangHZhangJZongG, et al.Sky Cleaner 3: a real pneumatic climbing robot for glass-wall cleaning. IEEE Robot Automat Magazine2006; 13: 32–41.
2.
LukiBLTsoSKNgA, et al.Development of a safety/support unit for climbing service robots. Proc IMechE, Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science2003; 217: 1139–1153.
3.
HuangHLiDXueZ, et al.Design and performance analysis of a tracked wall-climbing robot for ship inspection in shipbuilding. Ocean Eng2017; 131: 224–230.
4.
Moniri MM, Bamdad M and Sayyadan MZ. A novel design of wall climbing robot for inspection of storage steel tanks. In: IEEE/Rsi international conference on robotics & mechatronics, Tehran, Iran, 7–9 October 2015, pp.557–562.
5.
AkinfievTeodorRoemiF, et al.Design of autonomous underwater climbing robot. Mobile Robotics: Solution Challenges2010; 10: 958–964.
6.
DingWSWangXCTangCT, et al.Structural design of permanent-magnet adsorption tracked ship wall-climbing robot. Machine Tool Hydraulics2016; 6: 6–11.
7.
YanCSunZZhangW, et al.Design of novel multidirectional magnetized permanent magnetic adsorption device for wall-climbing robots. Int J Precis Eng Manuf2016; 17: 871–878.
8.
Aksak B, Murphy MP and Sitti M. Gecko inspired micro- fibrillary adhesives for wall climbing robots on micro/nanoscale rough surfaces. In: IEEE international conference on robotics & automation, Pasadena, CA, 19–23 May 2008, pp.3058–3063.
9.
KimSSpenkoMTrujilloS, et al.Smooth vertical surface climbing with directional adhesion. IEEE Transact Robot2008; 24: 65–74.
10.
Unver O, Murphy MP and Sitti M. Geckobot and Waalbot: small-scale wall climbing robots. In: AIAA aviation, technology, integration, & operations conference, Piscataway, NJ, 26–29 September 2005.
11.
Chen R, Liu R and Shen H. Design of a double-tracked wall climbing robot based on electrostatic adhesion mechanism. In: IEEE workshop on advanced robotics & its social impacts, Tokyo, Japan, 7–9 November 2013, pp.212–217.
12.
KohKSreekumarMPonnambalamS. Hybrid electrostatic and elastomer adhesion mechanism for wall climbing robot. Mechatronics2016; 35: 122–135.
13.
ZhaoJHLiXBaiJ. Experimental study of vortex suction unit-based wall-climbing robot on walls with various surface conditions. Proc I Mech E, Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science2018; 232: 3977–3991.
14.
Wu S, Wu L and Liu T. Design of a sliding wall climbing robot with a novel negative adsorption device. In: IEEE international conference on ubiquitous robots & ambient intelligence, Incheon, South Korea, 23–26 November 2011, pp.97–100.
15.
BuheN. Principle and application of vibration suction method. J Beijing Univ Aeronaut Astronaut2008; 18: 217–226.
16.
WangKWangWZhangH. Analysis and design of attachment module based on sine vibrating suction method for wall-climbing robot. Procedia Eng2011; 12: 9–14.
17.
HanI. Development of a stair-climbing robot using springs and planetary wheels. Proc I Mech E, Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science2008; 222: 1289–1296.
18.
Oliveira ALC, Silva MF and Barbosa RS. Architecture of a wheeled climbing robot with dynamic adjustment of the adhesion system. In: IEEE international symposium on intelligent systems & informatics, Subotica, Serbia, 10–11 September 2010, pp.127–132.
19.
ZhangLSunJYinG, et al.A cross structured light sensor and stripe segmentation method for visual tracking of a wall climbing robot. Sensors2015; 15: 13725–13751.
20.
Shen W, Gu J and Shen Y. Proposed wall climbing robot with permanent magnetic tracks for inspecting oil tanks. In: IEEE mechatronics & automation international conference, Niagara Falls, Canada, 29 July–1 August 2005, pp.2072–2077.
21.
YaoJHuangYWanZ, et al.Minimum-time trajectory planning for an inchworm-like climbing robot based on quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization. Proc I Mech E, Part C: J Mechanical Engineering Science2017; 231: 3443–3454.
22.
LocVGRohSKoo IM, et al.Sensing and gait planning of quadruped walking and climbing robot for traversing in complex environment. Robot Autonomous Syst2010; 58: 666–675.
23.
RoySSPratiharDK. Effects of turning gait parameters on energy consumption and stability of a six-legged walking robot. Robot Autonomous Syst2012; 60: 72–82.
24.
PfeifferFRossmannTBolotnikNN, et al.Simulation and optimization of regular motions of a tube-crawling robot. Multibody System Dynam2001; 5: 159–184.
25.
LiuFWuDChenK. The simplest creeping gait for a quadruped robot. Proc I Mech E, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science2013; 227: 170–177.
26.
KimSSpenkoMTrujilloS, et al.Smooth vertical surface climbing with directional adhesion. IEEE Transact Robot2008; 24: 65–74.
27.
Hawkes EW, Christensen DL and Cutkosky M R. Vertical dry adhesive climbing with a 100× bodyweight payload. 2015.
28.
Zhu T, Liu R, Wang XD, et al. Principle and application of vibrating suction method. In: IEEE international conference on robotics & biomimetic, Kunming, China, 17–20 December 2006, pp.491–495.
29.
Chen R, Fu Q, Liu Z, et al. Design and experimental research of an underwater vibration suction module inspired by octopus suckers. In: IEEE international conference on robotics & biomimetic, Macau, China, 5–8 December 2017, pp.978–983.
30.
Yu Z, Wang Z, Liu R, et al. Stable gait planning for a gecko-inspired robot to climb on vertical surface. In: IEEE international conference on mechatronics & automation, Takamatsu, Japan, 4–7 August 2013, pp.307–311.
