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Three-Modular Obstacle-Climbing Robot for Cleaning Windows on Building Exterior Walls

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Abstract

In this research, a three-modular obstacle-climbing robot is suggested for the operation of a window-cleaning system on the façade of buildings. The suggested robot is composed of a main platform and three modular climbing units. The middle module has the window-cleaning system that performs the cleaning task using a roll-brush, water and detergent, a squeezing pad, and a suction device. Various sensors are installed in each climbing module to detect obstacles and measure the states of the robot and the wall. A winch mechanism is set on the top of the building to facilitate the vertical motion of the robot. The robot controller coordinates the three modules as well as the winch to climb obstacles. To evaluate the performance of the developed robot prototype, a 6-m-high test bed was set up on the roof and the façade. The obstacle size and time required to climb the obstacle were selected as the performance indices. In addition, quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the window-cleaning system were performed. As a result, it was confirmed that the obstacle-climbing robot could climb obstacles of varying sizes with reasonable speed while it performed the window-cleaning function. This research shows that a systemically well designed robot with a combination of simple sensors and actuators can solve the practical problem and apply in built buildings.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2018R1D1A1B07043979).

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  1. Department of Mechanical System Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, 61 Daehak-ro, Gumi, Gyeongbuk, 730-701, South Korea

    Cheonghwa Lee & Baeksuk Chu

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  1. Cheonghwa Lee
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  2. Baeksuk Chu
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Correspondence to Baeksuk Chu.

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Lee, C., Chu, B. Three-Modular Obstacle-Climbing Robot for Cleaning Windows on Building Exterior Walls. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 20, 1371–1380 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-019-00138-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-019-00138-5

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