Design and control of a climbing robot for inspection of high mast lighting

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to develop a climbing robot to help people inspect lamps of high-mast lighting. Design/methodology/approach The robot consists of driving mechanism, suspension mechanism and compression mechanism. The driving mechanism is realized by link chains and sprockets, which are arranged opposite to each other, to form a dual caterpillar mechanism. The compression mechanism squeezes the caterpillar, and rubber feet “grasps” the steel rope to generate enough adhesion forces. The suspension mechanism is used to compensate the contraction or extension of the chains. The robot is equipped with a DC motor with a rated power of 250 W and a wireless module to communicate with the operator’s console. The dynamic model of the robot and the control strategy is derived, and the stability of the controller is proofed. Findings The payload experiment shows the robot can afford up to 3.7 times payload versus its own weight. Even when the payload is 30 kg, the robot can maintain a speed of the 1 m/s. The experiments also show that the tracking error of the robot reaches zero. Practical implications The proposed moving mechanism has a high load/weight ratio, which is a verified solution for the cable inspection purpose. Originality/value A rope climbing robot for high mast lighting inspection is proposed. The developed mechanism can reach a speed of 1 m/s with the payload of 30 kg, while its own weight is only 15.6 kg. The payload/weight ratio of the robot is 2.24; this value is rather good in many climbing robots reported in other renowned journal.

Application of Cable Climbing Robot Automation Control Technology in Bridge Cable Measuring System

“…First, a coordinate system is fixed on each link of the robot, and then a homogeneous transformation matrix is used to represent the relative poses of two adjacent links. e multiplication transformation can finally derive the pose of the end joint point relative to the base coordinate system, thereby establishing the kinematics equation of the robot [18]. In this paper, the motion control equation of the orthogonal joint cable climbing robot can be obtained through DH transformation, and the bridge cable can be measured according to this equation.…”

Design and implementation of the wheel-clamping stay cable inspection robot

“…6 The clamping mechanism of the pipe climbing robot designed by Sungkyunkwan University is composed of worm drive and ball screw mechanism. 7 Li et al 8 designed a tracked rod climbing robot that squeezes the compression block to clamp the inclined ties by manually tightening the knob. Chen et al 9 designed a tracked rod climbing robot with a multi-joint linkage structure clamping structure.…”

Elastic Obstacle-Surmounting Pipeline-Climbing Robot with Composite Wheels

“…It had a five-DOF manipulator and two grippers and moved along cylindrical pipes like an inchworm, bypassing obstacles such as flanges and valves. A climbing robot was developed to help people inspect lamps of high-mast lighting [18]. It was driven by link chains and sprockets, which were arranged opposite to each other, to form a dual caterpillar mechanism.…”