Skip to main content
Log in

Bio-inspired single-driver multi-motion modes wall climbing robot

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The robots based on bionic geckos and inchworms are more flexible and more adaptable than other mobile robots. However, most of the existing bionic wall climbing robots have problems with multiple drives and complex control. By studying gecko and inchworm, a single-driver multi-motion mode wall climbing robot (SMWR) is proposed. The proposed robot uses an active driver to drive each legs. First, its minimum adhesion force when climbing on a wall is calculated and the inchworm motion pattern is analyzed when it moves rapidly. Second, the different sequences of the foot tip and the overall motion of the robot under the imitation gecko gait is determined, and the ability of SMWR to cross and turning is deduced. Finally, a wall climbing robot prototype is constructed. The robot proposed in this paper can replace manual work to achieve more lasting work, such as high-altitude glass cleaning and so on.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. B. He, Z. Wang, M. Li, K. Wang, R. Shen and S. Hu, Wet adhesion inspired bionic climbing robot, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 19 (2013) 312–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. D. C. Kar, Design of statically stable walking robot: A review, Journal of Robotic Systems, 20 (2003) 671–686.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. D. Zhendong and S. Jiurong, Research progress in gecko locomotion and biomimetic geckorobots, Progress in Natural Science, 17 (2007) 3–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. W. Wang, K. Wang and H. Zhang, Crawling gait realization of the mini-modular climbing caterpillar robot, Progress in Natural Science, 19 (2009) 1821–1829.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. J. Zhang, T. Wang, J. Wang, B. Li, J. Hong, J. X. Zhang and M. Y. Wang, Dynamic modeling and simulation of inchworm movement towards bio-inspired soft robot design, Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, 14 (2019) 066012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Z. Dai and J. Sun, A biomimetic study of discontinuous-constraint metamorphic mechanism for gecko-like robot, Journal of Bionic Engineering, 4 (2007) 91–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. C. Zhang and J. Dai, Continuous static gait with twisting trunk of a metamorphic quadruped robot, Mechanical Sciences, 9 (2018) 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. L. Schiller, A. Seibel and J. Schlattmann, Toward a gecko-inspired, climbing soft robot, Frontiers in Neurorobotics, 13 (2019) 106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. T. Tang, X. Hou, Y. Xiao, Y. Su, Y. Shi and X. Rao, Research on motion characteristics of space truss-crawling robot, International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, 16 (2019).

  10. X. Wang, B. Yang, D. Tan, Q. Li, B. Song, Z. Wu and L. Xue, Bioinspired footed soft robot with unidirectional all-terrain mobility, Materials Today, 35 (2020) 42–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Q. Han, F. Cao, P. Yi and T. Li, Motion control of a gecko-like robot based on a central pattern generator, Sensors, 21 (2021) 6045.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. J. Shao, X. Li, C. Zong, W. Guo, Y. Bai, F. Dai and X. Gao, A wall-climbing robot with gecko features, IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation, Chengdu, China (2012) 942–947.

  13. W. Jing, L. Ying, L. Xiaohu and M. Cai, Gait planning of the gecko-like robot transition to wall, 2010 International Conference on Electrical and Control Engineering, Wuhan, China (2010) 1054–1057.

  14. Z. Yu, Y. Shi, A. Luo, J. Tao and S. Yang, Research on landing collision experiment of gecko robot with bio-inspired dry adhesive foot, 2018 IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation, Wuyishan, China (2018) 336–340.

  15. W. Haomachai, D. Shao, W. Wang, A. Ji, Z. Dai and P. Manoonpong, Lateral undulation of the bendable body of a gecko-inspired robot for energy-efficient inclined surface climbing, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 6 (2021) 7917–7924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. L. Zhornyak and M. R. Emami, Gait optimization for quadruped rovers, Robotica, 38 (7) (2020) 1263–1287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. N. Zhu, H. Zang, B. Liao, H. Qi, Z. Yang, M. Chen, X. Lang, and Y. Wang, A quadruped soft robot for climbing parallel rods, Robotica, 39 (4) (2021) 686–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. S. Wang, K. Wang, C. Zhang and J. S. Dai, Kinetostatic backflip strategy for self-recovery of quadruped robots with the selected rotation axis, Robotica, 40 (6) (2022) 1713–1731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Y.-F. Li, H.-Q. Sun and P.-X. Chan, Research on structure and driving principles of inchworm-like bionic micro-robot, China Mechanical Engineering, 23 (12) (2012) 1423.

    Google Scholar 

  20. S. Kalouche, N. Wiltsie, H. Su and A. Parness, Inchworm style gecko adhesive climbing robot, IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Chicago, USA (2014) 2319–2324.

  21. S. Manzoor and Y. Choi, Central patten generator based locomotion in inchworm robot, 2014 11th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots and Ambient Intelligence, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2014) 419–422.

  22. Y. Guan, H. Zhu, W. Wu, X. Zhou, L. Jiang, C. Cai and H. Zhang, A modular biped wall-climbing robot with high mobility and manipulating function, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 18 (2012) 1787–1798.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. L. Yu and J. Chen, General control model for bionic inchworm robot moving modes based on discrete hopfield neural network, 2012 Second International Conference on Intelligent System Design and Engineering Application, Sanya, China (2012) 687–690.

  24. T. Han and R. Qian, Analysis of the wheel-wall gap and its influence on magnetic force for wheeled wall-climbing robot adsorbed on the cylindrical tank, 2020 IEEE 4th Information Technology, Networking, Electronic and Automation Control Conference, Chongqing, China, 1 (2020) 889–893.

  25. W. Lee, M. Hirai and S. Hirose, Gunryu III: reconfigurable magnetic wall-climbing robot for decommissioning of nuclear reactor, Advanced Robotics, 27 (14) (2013) 1099–1111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Y. Zhang, Y. Chen, W. Chu and F. Jia, Wall stability analysis of marine wall climbing robot, 2021 5th International Conference on Robotics and Automation Sciences, Wuhan, China (2021) 70–74.

  27. W. Provancher, S. Jensen-Segal and M. Fehlberg, ROCR: an energy-efficient dynamic wall-climbing robot, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 16 (2010) 897–906.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. C. Park, J. Bae, S. Ryu, J. Lee and T. Seo, R-track: separable modular climbing robot design for wall-to-wall, Transition IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 6 (2020) 1036–1042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. B. He, S. Xu and Y. Zhou, Mobility properties analyses of a wall climbing hexapod robot, Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, 32 (3) (2018) 1333–1344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. N. David and D. Zarrouk, Design and analysis of FCSTAR, a hybrid flying and climbing sprawl tuned robot, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 6 (4) (2021) 6188–6195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. A. Goswami, B. Thuilot and B. Espiau, A study of the passive gait of a compass-like biped robot: symmetry and chaos, The International Journal of Robotics Research, 17 (1998) 1282–1301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. R. Riener, L. Lünenburger and G. Colombo, Human-centered robotics applied to gait training and assessment, Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 43 (5) (2006) 679–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. M. Erden and K. Leblebicioğlu, Free gait generation with reinforcement learning for a six-legged robot, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 56 (2008) 199–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. D. Chang, D. Son, T. Seo, W. Nam, D. Jeon and J. Kim, Kinematics-based gait planning of a quadruped gecko-like model, 2009 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, Guilin, China (2009) 233–238.

  35. A. Duschau-Wicke, A. Caprez and R. Riener, Patient-cooperative control increases active participation of individuals with SCI during robot-aided gait training, Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation, 7 (2010) 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. C. Meng, T. Wang, S. Guan, L. Zhang, J. Wang and X. Li, Design and analysis of gecko-like robot, Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering-English Edition, 24 (2011) 224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. R. Chen, R. Liu and J. Chen, A gecko inspired wall-climbing robot based on electrostatic adhesion mechanism, 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), Shenzhen, China (2013) 396–401.

  38. S. Bian, Y. Wei and F. Xu, A four-legged wall-climbing robot with spines and miniature setae array inspired by Longicorn and Gecko, Journal of Bionic Engineering, 18 (2021) 292–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. W. Wang, X. Li and S. Wu, Effects of pendular waist on gecko’s climbing: dynamic gait, analytical model and bio-inspired robot, Journal of Bionic Engineering, 14 (2) (2017) 191–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Research Program supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51875495).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yundou Xu.

Additional information

Zhongjin Ju received the MA.Eng. degree in mechanical engineering from Yanshan University, Hebei, China, in 2020. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in mechanical and electronic engineering at Yanshan University. His current research interests include parallel mechanisms and bionic robots.

Ke Wei received the B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Yanshan University, Hebei, China, in 2021. He is currently pursuing the MA. degree in mechanical and electronic engineering at Yanshan University. His current research interests include Quadruped.

Ze Jiang received the B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from North China Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Hebei, China in 2017. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in mechanical and electronic engineering at Yanshan University. His current research interests include parallel mechanisms and bionic robots.

Yundou Xu received the Ph.D. degree in mechanical and electronic engineering from Yanshan University, Hebei, China, in 2012. He is currently an Associate Professor of the School of Mechanical Engineering, and Parallel Robot and Mechatronic System Laboratory of Hebei Province, Yanshan University. His current research interests include parallel mechanisms and deployable mechanisms, and their application in the field of satellite antenna system, intelligent robots.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ju, Z., Wei, K., Jiang, Z. et al. Bio-inspired single-driver multi-motion modes wall climbing robot. J Mech Sci Technol 37, 3777–3791 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-0641-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-0641-0

Keywords

Navigation