Geckobot and Waalbot: Small-Scale Wall Climbing Robots

Abstract

Abstract — This paper proposes two small-scale agile wall climbing robots able to navigate on smooth vertical surfaces which use adhesive materials for attachment. Geckobot is a lizard-inspired climbing robot with similar kinematics to a gecko climbing gait. Waalbot uses two actuated legs with rotary motion and two passive revolute joints at each foot. Due to their compact design, a high degree of miniaturization is possible. Each has onboard power, computing, and wireless communication which allow for semi-autonomous operation. Various aspects of functioning prototype design and performance are discussed in detail, including leg and feet design and gait dynamics. Geckobot and Waalbot prototypes can climb 85 ◦ and 90 ◦ slopes respectively, and steer to any angle reliably. These robots are intended for inspection and surveillance applications and, ultimately, space missions. I.