Analysis of Design Features for Inspection Robot Make Use of Concrete Structures - An Assessment

Abstract

The presence of Robots in all engineering industries and commercial applications is tremendously growing day by day. Considering this there is a need to implement the robotic principles, which cannot be applicable to the human beings directly. One of the essential areas that lead to complications is maintenance and inspection of large vertical structures with autonomous systems; still it is an unsolved problem for the people doing research on this area. It is a challenge for mobile robots to climb a vertical wall primarily due to requirements for reliable locomotion, high maneuverability, and robust and efficient attachment and detachment. A large number of different robots exist which are able to navigate on buildings, ship hulls or other human-made structures, but most of these systems are practically limited to special situations or applications. It may be due to the design or physical factor that has been considered during the design of robotic system. While considering these issues a lot of researches state various principles and design aspects for maintenance and inspection purposes. Based on these facts, this article discusses the different methods for climbing robots and points out specifically the recent adhesion method for concrete vertical wall climbing. It also discusses about the design characteristics, practical challenges against the execution on vertical structures and suitable valid fields.