Robots Climbing Up and Down a Steep Stairs and Robots Retrieving Objects from High Places

Abstract

We designed and fabricated robots with various mechanisms to solve the problems set in the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning. Robots with various mechanisms were designed and manufactured to solve the problems set by the Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning. More specifically, a mechanism that can climb up the stairs robustly was realized by attaching claws to the crawlers to solve the problem of climbing up a steep staircase while carrying a heavy load. For the task of retrieving simulated fuel debris from a high location, we developed a mechanism to raise and lower the robot and a mechanism to retrieve simulated fuel debris without fail. Consequently, we realized the idea of robot technology required for decommissioning work and training human resources involved in decommissioning work.

Grass Cutting Robot for Inclined Surfaces in Hilly and Mountainous Areas

“…Slips and falls are the primary problems encountered during robot locomotion on steep slopes. In previous research, several mechanisms to maintain the stability of a mobile robot have been proposed; these include the following: (1) maintaining posture by controlling the center of gravity of a multi-legged mobile robot [ 17 ], (2) pulling a volcano observation robot with a wire [ 18 ], (3) slope movement using a snake-like robot [ 19 ], (4) traversing a slope with caterpillars or special wheels [ 14 , 20 , 21 ], and (5) maintaining posture on a slope by pushing with air [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. In method (1), the robot must be equipped with numerous actuators to create a robot with legs, and these actuators are not only heavy but also need to be controlled in a complicated manner.…”

“…Notably, turning is one of the most difficult actions for robots to perform on steep slopes. The occurrence of slippage when turning with tracked wheels using skid steering is yet to be confirmed [ 14 , 20 , 21 ]. Skid steering is a method by which a wheeled or tracked vehicle takes a turn, and a skid steering vehicle has a greater wheel slip ratio when steering than when traveling in a straight direction [ 25 ].…”