On the static structural design of climbing robots: part 1

Abstract

This manuscript is the first of two parts of a work investigating optimal configurations of legged climbing robots while loitering on vertical surfaces. In this part 1, a mathematical model of a climbing robot based on the finite element method (FEM), specifically the stiffness method, is generated. A number of parameters, namely the height of the robot, the length of its body and the position of its legs, are investigated to assess their effect on the adhesion requirements needed for the robot to stay attached to a wall. Predictions of the developed mathematical model are validated using FEM commercial software. The body and the legs are assumed to be perpendicular to each other in this part 1. The effect of their inclination is investigated in the subsequent part 2 of our work. In part 2, the model is also used to predict postures that ants have while standing on vertical surfaces. The model is validated by comparing the predicted results to images of loitering ants. The parameters investigated provide guidelines to design legged climbing robots.