Design and Experiments of a Hexapod Robot for Inspection of Wind Turbine Blades

Abstract

Routine inspection and maintenance are crucial for safe and sustainable operation of wind turbine blades. Compared to repairing with human beings, climbing robots are safer and more efficient. There are some key issues in using robots to inspect and repair blades, such as crawling on surface with significant curvature changes, omnidirectional movement, etc. These issues demand high adaptability and movement capabilities of robots. Therefore, this paper presents a novel hexapod robot characterised with high adaptability and omnidirectional movement ability on blade surface. We design an underactuated leg structure and a dedicated controller and integrate it on proposed hexapod. The leg design enables robot adapt and attach to blade surface, and the controller enables robot crawl safely and omnidirectionally. Physical experiments demonstrate that the robot can adapt and move omnidirectionally on a blade surface.