TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Robot Climbs Sheer Faces Using Apelike Gait

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

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• 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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  Table of Contents:

  Robot Climbs Sheer Faces Using Apelike Gait Prototype Just 18 Inches

• Robot Climbs Sheer Faces Using Apelike Gait - Prototype Just 18 Inches 

  The 1.2-pound prototype ROCR measures just 18 inches tall by 12 inches wide. Two claws are mounted on each end of its seemingly outstretched arms, but only one claw is holding fast at any one time. A long tail, the end of which holds its battery power pack, is swung back and forth, allowing the claws to alternate between holding and swinging, permitting the robot to ratchet upward at a rate of about 6 inches per second. An 8-foot-tall wall can be traversed in about 15 seconds—not the world's fastest speed, but with less battery power consumed than any other climbing robot worldwide.

  

  Oscillating dynamic gait engages a gripper (yellow triangle), while arrows indicate tail motion relative to robot body and axis of rotation about an engaged gripper (source: University of Utah).
  

  The researchers are currently evaluating various biologically inspired gaits that use the same hardware configuration with slightly different algorithms for shifting weight. For instance, human climbers often crank up their weight-shifting momentum by winding up with long swinging motions followed by a single reach that attains the maximum vertical gain when switching to the next hand-hold. However, apes use brachiation, which involves more lateral motion and less wind-up. The current prototype uses a combination of the two.

   

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