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Adhesion-based space climbing robots, with their flexibility and multi-functional capabilities, are seen as a promising candidate for in-orbit maintenance. However, challenges such as uncertain adhesion establishment, unexpected detachment, and body motion unsteadiness in microgravity environments persist. To address these issues, this paper proposes a coordinated force–position compliance control method that integrates novel adhesion establishment and rotational detachment strategies, integrated into the gait schedule for a space climbing robot. By monitoring the foot-end reaction forces in real time, the proposed method establishes adhesion without risking damaging the spacecraft exterior, and smooth detachment is achieved by rotating the foot joint instead of direct pulling. These strategies are dedicated to reducing unnecessary control actions and, accordingly, the required adhesion forces in all feet, reducing the possibility of unexpected detachment. Climbing experiments have been conducted in a suspension-based gravity compensation system to examine the merits of the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed rotational detaching method decreases the required pulling force by 65.5% compared to direct pulling, thus greatly reducing the disturbance introduced to the robot body and other supporting legs. When stepping on an obstacle, the compliant control method is shown to reduce unnecessarily aggressive control actions and result in a reduction in relevant normal and shear adhesion forces in the supporting legs by 44.8% and 35.1%, respectively, compared to a PID controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective adaptive grasping capability is regarded as crucial for climbing robots. However, many dry adhesion legged climbing robots are primarily focused on mobility and load capacity to perform various climbing tasks, often overlooking their operational grasping abilities. Furthermore, flexible grippers designed for adaptive grasping are typically not capable of supporting autonomous climbing or perching motions; they must be rigidly integrated with legged climbing robots, which results in increased weight and reduced load capacity. To address this challenge, a novel dry adhesion climbing robot, MST-G, is proposed, featuring autonomous climbing, perching, and flexible adaptive grasping capabilities. During operation, MST-G is integrated with a legged climbing robot to perform tasks, but can autonomously climb when no task is present, thereby reducing load and ensuring stable motion. Additionally, a robust controller based on prescribed performance is introduced and tested on MST-G, which limits the joint tracking error to a prescribed safety limit, ensuring that motion trajectories can be executed safely and reliably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dangers in aerial work will cause huge economic losses and casualties. To improve this problem, this paper designs a track climbing robot based on the Halbach square magnetic array, which can be used for the inspection and maintenance of large steel structures. First, the adsorption unit uses the Halbach square magnetic array to arrange permanent magnets. The loadbearing mechanism transfers the weight of the robot body to the track plate while sharing the load of two axes and assisting the track to stick to the wall. The tensioning mechanism is used to support the track. Then, the critical states of the two failure types of sliding and overturning of the climbing robot are analyzed, and the magnetic adsorption force provided by the single track plate required for the stable adsorption of the robot is determined; the two motion states of the robot, straight and turning, are analyzed, and the torque provided by the drive device required when the robot moves is determined. Finally, the adsorption force of the adsorption unit is calculated by COMSOL simulation; the axial and circumferential movement of the track along the curved surface is simulated and analyzed to verify the feasibility of the climbing robot. The results show that the robot can be stably adsorbed on the wall, the adsorption force of a single track shoe should be no less than 48.59N for the robot to move flexibly on the wall, and the driving torque provided by the drive device of the single-side track should be greater than 20.47N, the adsorption unit using N42 permanent magnet can bring an adsorption force of 27.812N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Mechanical Engineering is the property of Editorial Board of China Mechanical Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Robots are becoming integral to society and industries due to their enormous advantages. Among the various categories of mobile robots, including wheeled robot, tracked robot, and legged robots, the latter stands out as a better choice for most field applications due to their adaptability across various terrains. The purpose of this review is to study the locomotion capabilities of quadruped robots and judge their suitability for climbing applications as most unexplored applications of automation and robotics are required to climb. This review explores the locomotion capabilities of quadruped robots. It covers different aspects of quadruped robots like types of legs, leg design, gait patterns, and their mathematical formulations, and types of motions like omnidirectional motion and body sway motion. It also emphasizes its fault-tolerant gait, adaptability, and reliability. The paper also focuses on slope and stair climbing, outlining design requirements and applications. The study includes an examination of the applicability of various gaits under different conditions and the methods for increasing stability without compromising speed. Overall, the review serves as a valuable resource for future research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climbing robots, with their expansive workspace and flexible deployment modes, have the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing processes of large and complex components. Given that the surfaces to be machined typically exhibit variable curvature, good surface adaptability, load capacity, and motion accuracy are essential prerequisites for climbing robots in manufacturing tasks. This paper addresses the manufacturing requirements of climbing robots by proposing an asymmetric independently steerable wheel (AISW) for climbing robots, along with the motion control method. Firstly, for the adaptability issue of the locomotion mechanism on curved surfaces under heavy load, an asymmetric independently steerable wheel motion module is proposed, which improves the steering difficulty of the traditional independently steerable wheel (ISW) based on the principle of steering assisted by wheels. Secondly, a kinematic model of the AISW chassis is established and, on this basis, a trajectory tracking method based on feedforward and proportional–integral feedback is proposed. Comparative experimental results on large, curved surface components show that the asymmetric independently steerable wheel has lower steering resistance and higher motion accuracy, significantly enhancing the reachability of climbing robots and facilitating their application in the manufacturing of large and complex components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adhesion-based space climbing robots, with their flexibility and multi-functional capabilities, are seen as a promising candidate for in-orbit maintenance. However, challenges such as uncertain adhesion establishment, unexpected detachment, and body motion unsteadiness in microgravity environments persist. To address these issues, this paper proposes a coordinated force–position compliance control method that integrates novel adhesion establishment and rotational detachment strategies, integrated into the gait schedule for a space climbing robot. By monitoring the foot-end reaction forces in real time, the proposed method establishes adhesion without risking damaging the spacecraft exterior, and smooth detachment is achieved by rotating the foot joint instead of direct pulling. These strategies are dedicated to reducing unnecessary control actions and, accordingly, the required adhesion forces in all feet, reducing the possibility of unexpected detachment. Climbing experiments have been conducted in a suspension-based gravity compensation system to examine the merits of the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed rotational detaching method decreases the required pulling force by 65.5% compared to direct pulling, thus greatly reducing the disturbance introduced to the robot body and other supporting legs. When stepping on an obstacle, the compliant control method is shown to reduce unnecessarily aggressive control actions and result in a reduction in relevant normal and shear adhesion forces in the supporting legs by 44.8% and 35.1%, respectively, compared to a PID controller.

The gecko can achieve flexible climbing on various vertical walls and even ceilings, which is closely related to its unique foot adhesion system. In the past two decades, the mechanism of the gecko adhesion system has been studied in-depth, and a verity of gecko-inspired adhesives have been proposed. In addition to its strong adhesion, its easy detachment is also the key to achieving efficient climbing locomotion for geckos. A similar controllable adhesion characteristic is also key to the research into artificial gecko-inspired adhesives. In this paper, the structures, fabrication methods, and applications of gecko-inspired controllable adhesives are summarized for future reference in adhesive development. Firstly, the controllable adhesion mechanism of geckos is introduced. Then, the control mechanism, adhesion performance, and preparation methods of gecko-inspired controllable adhesives are described. Subsequently, various successful applications of gecko-inspired controllable adhesives are presented. Finally, future challenges and opportunities to develop gecko-inspired controllable adhesive are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robots are becoming integral to society and industries due to their enormous advantages. Among the various categories of mobile robots, including wheeled robot, tracked robot, and legged robots, the latter stands out as a better choice for most field applications due to their adaptability across various terrains. The purpose of this review is to study the locomotion capabilities of quadruped robots and judge their suitability for climbing applications as most unexplored applications of automation and robotics are required to climb. This review explores the locomotion capabilities of quadruped robots. It covers different aspects of quadruped robots like types of legs, leg design, gait patterns, and their mathematical formulations, and types of motions like omnidirectional motion and body sway motion. It also emphasizes its fault-tolerant gait, adaptability, and reliability. The paper also focuses on slope and stair climbing, outlining design requirements and applications. The study includes an examination of the applicability of various gaits under different conditions and the methods for increasing stability without compromising speed. Overall, the review serves as a valuable resource for future research in this field.

This paper focuses on the development of a novel climbing robot that is designed for autonomous maintenance of vertical gardens in urban environments. The robot, designed with a unique five-legged structure, is equipped with a range of electrical and mechanical components, enabling it to autonomously navigate and maintain a specially designed vertical garden wall facilitating interactive maintenance and growth monitoring. The motion planning and control of the robot were developed to ensure precise and adaptive movement across the vertical garden wall. Advanced algorithms were employed to manage the complex dynamics of the robot's movements, optimizing its efficiency and effectiveness in navigating and maintaining the garden structure. The operation of the robot in maintaining the vertical garden was evaluated during a two-week trial where the robot successfully performed nearly 8000 leg movements, with only 0.6% requiring human intervention. This demonstrates a high level of autonomy and reliability. This study concludes that the pentapod robot demonstrates significant potential for automating the maintenance of vertical gardens, offering a promising tool for enhancing urban green spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some large hydropower stations, the isolated phase enclosed bus (IPB) can only check the equipment status through preventive tests, it is difficult to visually inspect the appearance. To solve the problem of difficult inspection of annular pipelines in such confined and narrow spaces, a wheeled climbing robot that can move in horizontal and vertical segments was proposed. By comparing and analyzing the movement and attachment methods of the climbing robot, and referring to the actual working conditions, the wheeled thrust attachment method was selected. Also, the force analysis of the overall structure of the robot was carried out. The experiments were carried out in the simulated IPB pipeline. The results show that the inspection robot has good adaptability to the IPB pipeline. In addition, a point cloud registration method based on cylindrical coordinates is designed, which solves the problem that the map cannot be correctly constructed in the pipeline, and the calculation time is better than lidar odometry and mapping (LOAM) and iterative closest point (ICP) algorithms, which expands the application range of lidar point cloud mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to introduce robot technology to carry out the safety inspection of transmission towers in long-distance power transmission, so as to improve the safety and efficiency of inspection. However, aiming at the problem that the existing climbing robots are mainly used for large load applications, which leads to the large size and lack of flexibility of the robot, we propose an innovative solution. Firstly, a lightweight quadruped climbing robot is designed to improve portability and operational flexibility. Then, a one-dimensional force sensor is added at the end of each leg of the robot, and a special swing phase trajectory is designed. The robot can judge whether the electromagnetic adsorption is effective and avoid potential safety hazards. Finally, based on the principle of virtual model control (VMC), a foot-end force balancing algorithm is proposed to achieve uniform distribution and continuous change in force, and improve safety and load capacity. The experiments show that the scheme has a stable climbing ability in the environments of angle steel, vertical ferromagnetic plane and transmission tower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the robot industry has developed rapidly, and researchers and enterprises have begun to pay more attention to this industry. People are barely familiar with climbing robots, a kind of special robot. However, from their practical value and scientific research value, climbing robots should studied further. This paper analyzes and summarizes the key technologies of climbing robots, introduces various kinds of climbing robots, and examines their advantages and disadvantages to provide a reference for future researchers. Many countries have studied climbing robots and made some achievements. However, due to the complexity of climbing robots, their climbing efficiency and accuracy need to be further improved. The new structure can improve the climbing efficiency. This paper analyzes climbing robots such as mechanical arms, magnetic attraction, and claws. Optimization methods and path planning can improve the accuracy of work. This paper involves some control methods, including complex intelligent control methods such as behavior-based robot control. This paper also investigates various kinematic planning methods and expounds and summarizes various path planning algorithms, including machine learning and reinforcement learning of artificial intelligence, ant colony algorithm, and other algorithms. Therefore, by analyzing the research status of climbing robots at home and abroad, this paper summarizes three important aspects of climbing robots, namely, structural design, control methods, and climbing strategies, elaborates on the achievements and existing problems of these key technologies, and looks forward to the future development trend and research direction of climbing robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climbing robots, with their expansive workspace and flexible deployment modes, have the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing processes of large and complex components. Given that the surfaces to be machined typically exhibit variable curvature, good surface adaptability, load capacity, and motion accuracy are essential prerequisites for climbing robots in manufacturing tasks. This paper addresses the manufacturing requirements of climbing robots by proposing an asymmetric independently steerable wheel (AISW) for climbing robots, along with the motion control method. Firstly, for the adaptability issue of the locomotion mechanism on curved surfaces under heavy load, an asymmetric independently steerable wheel motion module is proposed, which improves the steering difficulty of the traditional independently steerable wheel (ISW) based on the principle of steering assisted by wheels. Secondly, a kinematic model of the AISW chassis is established and, on this basis, a trajectory tracking method based on feedforward and proportional–integral feedback is proposed. Comparative experimental results on large, curved surface components show that the asymmetric independently steerable wheel has lower steering resistance and higher motion accuracy, significantly enhancing the reachability of climbing robots and facilitating their application in the manufacturing of large and complex components.

This survey article highlights the difficulties in the field maintenance of telecommunication towers. It critically analyses the main features of the deployment of robots to maintain telecommunication towers. The growing demand for mobile connectivity poses the need for more towers, and the subsequent problem of network maintenance becomes more critical. Most tower maintenance is required work at height; therefore, height‐related risks are more frequent. A rigorous review is conducted, and the growth of the telecommunications network and key on‐site maintenance challenges are analyzed. Despite numerous challenges, these towers are maintained manually by riggers (certified climbers) worldwide. It raises the question, Is it possible to implement automation by robots for the maintenance of telecommunications towers? The feasibility analysis to deploy the robots is conducted systematically. To access the tower through a robot, detailed information on the type of towers, the climbing arrangements available on the existing towers, and the necessary operations to be carried out at the height is collected. A critical analysis of the climbing robots currently available in the literature, their grasping technology, and control algorithms is performed. The opinion of experts in the telecommunication industry is very helpful in identifying the requirements of robotic systems. The design attributes especially needed for the climbing robot, and the execution of the maintenance in height are highlighted. Due justification is given for deploying robots for field maintenance of telecom towers. The recommended methodology for designing an automation system helps research in the field of maintenance of telecom towers through robots, which could bring a remarkable solution to the telecom sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inspection of high ceilings or surfaces is important to ensure the quality and safety of infrastructure; however, the approach adopted by people or conventional robots is rather limited. Kinodynamic constraints (simultaneous kinematic and dynamic constraints) are presented by obstacles in real-life scenarios, such as suspended piping and wiring, which further limits the usability of robots. Therefore, this paper proposed an adhesion robot system that is attached to and maneuvers on flat and curved ceilings while traversing obstructions. To traverse obstacles, the robot comprises two units connected by a passive hinge mechanism. Traversal motion is achieved under adhesion force control with preexisting electric ducted fans without using separate hinge motors; thus, no additional weight is included. In addition to robot hardware, this study investigated the development of a control method based on dynamic analysis under the aforementioned kinodynamic constraints. Specifically, the proposed control algorithm considers the slipping and rollover conditions of the robot caused by the external force and moment applied to the unit during the obstacle traversal, respectively. The algorithm was systematically analyzed by conducting simulations to prevent the robot from experiencing adhesion failure, and the results were verified experimentally. The use of the robot in real-life scenarios was determined by performing feasibility tests in real-life applications.

There are a lot of high-height structures that should be inspected or manipulated frequently due to maintenance purposes. According to the safety considerations and time or cost limitations, substituting the human operator with an automatic robot is inevitable. The main objective of this paper is to design and manufacture a novel climbing robot equipped with grip-based locomotion system which can climb through scaffold structures and trusses to accomplish inspectional and operational tasks. The proposed robot has good maneuverability and stability. The proposed robot is manufactured in order to verify the simulation results with experimental data. The chassis and its corresponding grippers are designed first, and the corresponding model of the system is extracted. This model is used then for designing the controlling strategy of the system. The path planning of the robot is conducted to realize the climbing process by the robot during several steps in an optimum way. The prototype of the proposed robot is manufactured at Kharazmi University called KharazmBot. Experimental results not only show the capability of the manufactured robot toward ascending the mentioned structures but also prove its high stability as a result of its designed gripper and also its good maneuverability as a result of its over-actuated mechanism. Thus, it is concluded that the designed and manufactured climbing robot of this paper can successfully ascend through the pipes and trusses and perform a desired inspectional or operational task with good accuracy and safety while its stability is also satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Force sensors on climbing robots give important information to the robot control system, however, off-the-shelf sensors can be both heavy and bulky. We investigate the optimisation of a lightweight integrated force sensor made of piezoelectric material for the multi-limbed climbing robot MAGNETO. We focus on three design objectives for this piezoelectric component. The first is to develop a lightweight component with minimal compliance that can be embedded in the foot of the climbing robot. The second objective is to ensure that the component has sensing capability to replace the off-the-shelf force sensor. Finally, the component should be robust for a range of climbing configurations. To this end, we focus on a compliance minimisation problem with constrained voltage and volume fraction. We present structurally optimised designs that satisfy the three main design criteria and improve upon baseline results from a reference component. Our computational study demonstrates that the optimisation of embedded robotic components with piezoelectric sensing is worthy of future investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to replace the climbing work of the first climbers of the transmission tower without safety ropes, a transmission tower climbing robot is designed in this paper. First of all, this paper designs the structure of the robot by imitating the silkworm crawling on the branches through the principle of bionics. On this basis, through the inverse kinetics solution method, under the premise of planning the gait of the robot first, the dynamic simulation analysis of the robot is carried out according to the gait, so as to obtain the torque required for each joint motion. At the same time, according to the simulation results, the experimental test of the robot is carried out. Experiments have shown that the robot can climb to the top of a 50 m high transmission tower in 70 min with a load of 10 kg. The research results show that the transmission tower robot can replace the manual climbing operation of the transmission tower, and the mechanization and intelligence of the high-altitude operation of the transmission tower is highly feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a generalizable, low computational cost, simple, and fast gravity compensation method for legged robots with a variable number of legs. It is based on the static problem, which is a reduction in the dynamic model of the robot that takes advantage of the low velocity of climbing robots. To solve it, we propose a method that computes the torque to be applied by each actuator to compensate for the gravitational forces without using the Jacobian matrix for the forces exerted by the end-effector and without using analytical methods for the gravitational components of the model. We compare our method with the most popular method and conclude that ours is twice as fast. Using the proposed gravity compensator, we present a torque-based PD controller for the position of the leg modules, and a body velocity control without dynamic compensation. In addition, we validate the method with both hardware and a simulated version of the ROMERIN robot, a modular legged and climbing robot. Furthermore, we compare our controller with the usual kinematic inverse controllers, demonstrating that the mean angular and linear error is significantly reduced, as well as the power requirements of the actuators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robotized intelligent manufacturing is a growing trend in the manufacturing of large and complex components in aviation, aerospace, marine engineering and other industries. With their expansive workspaces and flexible deployment, climbing manufacturing robots can create a revolutionary manufacturing paradigm for large and complex components. This paper defines the climbing manufacturing robot based on the application status of climbing robots and then analyzes four key technical requirements: adhesion, locomotion, localization and control. Subsequently, the current research status of climbing robots in these four areas is classified and reviewed, along with a clarification of the research frontiers and trends in each area, and the applicability of the relevant research to manufacturing-oriented climbing robotic systems is analyzed. Finally, by concluding the development trends of robotized intelligent manufacturing equipment in terms of manufacturing dimension and scale, environmental adaptability and cluster collaboration capability, we clarify the major challenges for climbing manufacturing robots in terms of adhesion principles, motion mechanisms, positioning technology and control methods, and propose future research directions in these fields. This review analyzes the current state and development trends of climbing manufacturing robots, and anticipates their significant contributions to the paradigm revolution of manufacturing large and complex components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electric Drive is the property of Electric Drive Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Climbing robots are designed to conduct tasks that may be dangerous for humans working at height. In addition to improving safety, they can also increase task efficiency and reduce labor costs. They are widely used for bridge inspection, high-rise building cleaning, fruit picking, high-altitude rescue, and military reconnaissance. In addition to climbing, these robots need to carry tools to complete their tasks. Hence, their design and development are more challenging than those of most other robots. This paper analyzes and compares the past decade's design and development of climbing robots that can ascend vertical structures such as rods, cables, walls, and trees. Firstly, the main research fields and basic design requirements of climbing robots are introduced, and then the advantages and disadvantages of six key technologies are summarized, namely, conceptual design, adhesion methods, locomotion modes, safety mechanisms, control methods, and operational tools. Finally, the remaining challenges in research on climbing robots are briefly discussed and future research directions are highlighted. This paper provides a scientific reference for researchers engaged in the study of climbing robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Easy detachment is as important as reliable an attachment to climbing robots in achieving stable climbing on vertical surfaces. To deal with the difficulty of detachment occurring in wheeled and track-type climbing robots using bio-inspired spines, a novel climbing robot utilizing spiny track and dual-rail mechanism is proposed in this paper. The spiny track consists of dozens of spiny feet, and the movement of each spiny foot is guided by the specially designed dual-rail mechanism to achieve reliable attachment and easy detachment. First, the design of the climbing robot and the dual-rail mechanism are presented. Then, the dual-rail model is constructed to analyze the attaching and detaching movements of the spiny feet, and a mechanical model is established to analyze the force distribution on the spiny track. Finally, a robot prototype is developed, and the analysis results are verified by the experiment results. Experiments on the prototype demonstrated that it could climb on various rough vertical surfaces at a speed of 36 mm/s, including sandpaper, brick surfaces, concrete walls with pebbles, and coarse stucco walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wall-climbing robots have been well-developed for storage tank inspection. This work presents a backstepping sliding-mode control (BSMC) strategy for the spatial trajectory tracking control of a wall-climbing robot, which is specially designed to inspect inside and outside of cylindrical storage tanks. The inspection robot is designed with four magnetic wheels, which are driven by two DC motors. In order to achieve an accurate spatial position of the robot, a multisensor-data-fusion positioning method is developed. The new control method is proposed with kinematics based on a cylindrical coordinate system as the robot is moving on a cylindrical surface. The main purpose is to promote a smooth and stable tracking performance during inspection tasks, under the consideration of the robot's kinematic constraints and the magnetic restrictions of the adhesion system. The simulation results indicate that the proposed sliding mode controller can quickly correct the errors and global asymptotic stability is achieved. The prototype experimental results further validate the advancement of the proposed method; the wall-climbing robot can track both longitudinal and horizontal spatial trajectories stably with high precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the development of a novel climbing robot that is designed for autonomous maintenance of vertical gardens in urban environments. The robot, designed with a unique five-legged structure, is equipped with a range of electrical and mechanical components, enabling it to autonomously navigate and maintain a specially designed vertical garden wall facilitating interactive maintenance and growth monitoring. The motion planning and control of the robot were developed to ensure precise and adaptive movement across the vertical garden wall. Advanced algorithms were employed to manage the complex dynamics of the robot’s movements, optimizing its efficiency and effectiveness in navigating and maintaining the garden structure. The operation of the robot in maintaining the vertical garden was evaluated during a two-week trial where the robot successfully performed nearly 8000 leg movements, with only 0.6% requiring human intervention. This demonstrates a high level of autonomy and reliability. This study concludes that the pentapod robot demonstrates significant potential for automating the maintenance of vertical gardens, offering a promising tool for enhancing urban green spaces.

Grass cutting is necessary to prevent grass from diverting essential nutrients and water from crops. Usually, in hilly and mountainous areas, grass cutting is performed on steep slopes with an inclination angle of up to 60° (inclination gradient of 173%). However, such grass cutting tasks are dangerous owing to the unstable positioning of workers. For robots to perform these grass cutting tasks, slipping and falling must be prevented on inclined surfaces. In this study, a robot based on stable propeller control and four-wheel steering was developed to provide stable locomotion during grass cutting tasks. The robot was evaluated in terms of locomotion for different steering methods, straight motion on steep slopes, climbing ability, and coverage area. The results revealed that the robot was capable of navigating uneven terrains with steep slope angles. Moreover, no slipping actions that could have affected the grass cutting operations were observed. We confirmed that the proposed robot is able to cover 99.95% and 98.45% of an area on a rubber and grass slope, respectively. Finally, the robot was tested on different slopes with different angles in hilly and mountainous areas. The developed robot was able to perform the grass cutting task as expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to introduce robot technology to carry out the safety inspection of transmission towers in long-distance power transmission, so as to improve the safety and efficiency of inspection. However, aiming at the problem that the existing climbing robots are mainly used for large load applications, which leads to the large size and lack of flexibility of the robot, we propose an innovative solution. Firstly, a lightweight quadruped climbing robot is designed to improve portability and operational flexibility. Then, a one-dimensional force sensor is added at the end of each leg of the robot, and a special swing phase trajectory is designed. The robot can judge whether the electromagnetic adsorption is effective and avoid potential safety hazards. Finally, based on the principle of virtual model control (VMC), a foot-end force balancing algorithm is proposed to achieve uniform distribution and continuous change in force, and improve safety and load capacity. The experiments show that the scheme has a stable climbing ability in the environments of angle steel, vertical ferromagnetic plane and transmission tower.