The design, implementation, and stability analysis of a human-inspired dome-tethered robot

Abstract

This paper presents the design, implementation, and stability analysis of a tethered dome maintenance robotic system. The robot is inspired from human dome climbers who use a cable to keep themselves stable on domes. The robot has a differential-drive locomotion and tethered to the top of a dome, thus it can move stably and smoothly all over the top part of the dome, with purpose of cleaning, inspection and maintenance of the dome surface. The robot's stability is analyzed showing that it can stably work on top of domes. Finally, the robot is implemented and successfully tested. The main advantages of this system are its simple design, mechanical stability, its natural stability even in case of power failure, operational high speed, light weight, low power consumption, and higher reliability in comparison to the common climbing robots.