TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Robot Climbs Sheer Faces Using Apelike Gait

R. Colin Johnson | Date: 09-01-10 | Comments

Apelike swinging motions achieve unprecedented energy efficiency for a climbing robot that combines mechanical ratcheting with precise electronic control algorithms to navigate vertical ascents.

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Robot Climbs Sheer Faces Using Apelike Gait
Climbing robots use the same apelike swinging actions that have been adopted by mountain climbers to navigate sheer faces. These actions let robots make super-efficient use of the batteries they must pack. Such apelike motions could potentially streamline commercial robots designed for the inspection of buildings, bridges, dams, storage tanks and nuclear facilities, as well as military robots designed for reconnaissance "or as a really cool toy," say its developers.

Most robots designed for climbing concentrate on adhering to sheer faces, rather than on energy efficiency. They rely on brute force that sacrifices battery life by merely specifying a motor big enough to muscle its way to the top. Clever algorithms have previously been crafted to find efficient routes while climbing, but energy efficiency has always taken a back seat to speed. The rocking-climbing-oscillating robot (ROCR) from the University of Utah is changing priorities. Scientists designed the bot from the ground up for energy efficiency by mimicking biologically adept climbers, such as swinging apes.

Rocking-climbing-oscillating robot (ROCR) uses a pendulumlike tail (with its battery as balast) to gain height, which it uses to ratchet upward claw-over-claw style (source: University of Utah).

As the world's most efficient climbing robot, the ROCR achieved an unprecedented 20 percent efficiency, defined as the ratio of work performed while climbing to the electrical energy drawn from the battery.

For comparison, no commercial solar cell has yet achieved 20 percent efficiency, and even the most efficient commercial power source available today�the internal combustion engine�only bests the ROCR by 5 percent.

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