An approach for real-time motion planning of an inchworm robot in complex steel bridge environments

© Cambridge University Press 2016. Path planning can be difficult and time consuming for inchworm robots especially when operating in complex 3D environments such as steel bridges. Confined areas may prevent a robot from extensively searching the environment by limiting its mobility. An approach for real-time path planning is presented. This approach first uses the concept of line-of-sight (LoS) to find waypoints from the start pose to the end node. It then plans smooth, collision-free motion for a robot to move between waypoints using a 3D-F2 algorithm. Extensive simulations and experiments are conducted in 2D and 3D scenarios to verify the approach

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThis dissertation defines a new class of climbing robots, steering-plane bipeds, which encompasses a large number of existing climbing robots. Three major levels of motion planning are characterized which are common to this class of robots, namely, path planning, step planning, and gait planning. The unified presentation of related motion planning techniques is more generally applicable and more thorough than related algorithms in other literature, while more explicitly identifying limitations and tradeoffs due to alternate design choices within the class of steering-plane bipeds. A novel spline-based method for generating gaits is presented which uses separate path and time rate controls, and explicitly defined foot approach and departure directions that allows 1) a nominal guarantee of collision-free foot trajectories when close to the desired step configuration, 2) independent control of gait shape and speed, and 3) a unified representation of the four gait families of steering-plane bipeds: flipping, inchworm, step-through, and spinning gaits. This dissertation presents a thorough examination of the variations within each gait family, rather than merely presenting a representative instance of each. Concrete case studies applying the techniques of this dissertation are presented for optimizing the gaits for overall speed, energy efficiency, and minimum gripping force and moment. The results highlight that many common gaits in the literature are far from optimal. Results and general rules of thumb for gait planning are extracted that allow guidance for obtaining good results even if using alternate planning techniques without optimization

Design of a biologically inspired climbing robot and an adhesion mechanism for reliable and versatile climbing in complex steel structures

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Steel infrastructure is the backbone of modern day society, however it requires regular inspection and maintenance to ensure integrity and prolong the life of services. The inspection of steel infrastructure such as steel bridges, often requires inspection at heights, in confined spaces, in hazardous environments or in areas which simply cannot be accessed by humans. With more stringent Work Health and Safety requirements, the ability to carry out comprehensive inspection becomes more challenging, to the extent that particular locations can no longer be inspected. There is significant motivation for climbing robots to carry out the inspection of such locations; however very few solutions have been successfully deployed. The difficulty in deploying a climbing robot is largely attributed to robot configurations which lack versatility and adhesion systems which lack reliability. Inspired biologically from the inchworm caterpillar, a climbing robot is developed to addresses these two issues. This research presents the kinematic design of a climbing robot and the design of a novel magnetic adhesion mechanism which overcomes the challenges faced by the current state-of-the-art climbing robots. The inchworm inspired climbing robot has a unique kinematic design consisting of 7 Degrees of Freedom to achieve its versatile climbing ability. This unique configuration allows the robot to navigate complex structures and pass through narrow obstacles, such as manholes. This research presents an optimisation model for developing robust and reliable adhesion systems which consist of multiple adhesion modules. The optimisation model maximises particular adhesion performance criteria, whilst minimising weight. The model allows for tailored designs depending on the means of adhesion being used. In verifying the optimisation model, a novel adhesion mechanism is developed with the means of attaching and detaching a permanent magnet to a steel surface. The adhesion module consists of a quarter gear segment to rotate the magnet between attached and detached states. Using the novel adhesion mechanism, an adhesion system is developed based on the optimisation model and verified through testing. The inchworm inspired robot configuration and the novel magnetic adhesion system enable the practical deployment of the robot. The Climbing RObot Caterpillar (CROC) has undergone extensive testing in simulated environments, mock-up environments and has been deployed for the real world inspection of complex steel structures. Over 50 site trials have been conducted over a three year period inside the hollow archways of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. CROC extends the state of the art, being the first of its kind deployed with the capability of autonomous inspection in complex steel structures

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A TREE CLIMBING ROBOT

This Project is on the design, construction, and testing of a robot to climb trees and to detect Asian Longhorn Beetle infestation. The primary goal was to design and build a robot that could successfully climb a tree. After researching existing climbing robot designs, a robot prototype was built using concepts from the existing designs. The prototype was then tested to determine the effectiveness of the design. The prototype proved to be partially successful, being capable of gripping a tree and staying on, but could not move. Though not entirely successful, the project identified many important aspects in a tree climbing robot\u27s design

Design and Construction of a Tree-Climbing Robot

This report describes the research, mechanical analysis, design methodology, and testing procedures that were used to design and build a tree-climbing robot. The goal of this project was to build a tree-climbing robot to satisfy the requirements established by the USDA and aid in the detection of Asian Longhorn Beetles. The following report details the threat that invasive beetle species pose to the United States, how tree climbing robots may help eliminate invasive species, a review of robots that have successfully climbed trees, and how effective they may be at locating beetles, our considerations when developing a tree climbing robot design, the preliminary robot design, the final robot design, mechanical analysis, programming structure, and the results that were achieved by the robot

Design and Construction of a Tree-climbing Robot

This report describes the research, mechanical analysis, design methodology, and testing procedures that were used to design and build a tree-climbing robot. The goal of this project was to build a tree-climbing robot to satisfy the requirements established by the USDA and aid in the detection of Asian Longhorn Beetles. The following report details the threat that invasive beetle species pose to the United States, how tree climbing robots may help eliminate invasive species, a review of robots that have successfully climbed trees, and how effective they may be at locating beetles, our considerations when developing a tree climbing robot design, the preliminary robot design, the final robot design, mechanical analysis, programming structure, and the results that were achieved by the robot

BogieBot: A Climbing Robot in Cluttered Confined Space of Bogies with Ferrous Metal Surfaces

Proactive inspection is essential for prediction and prevention of rolling stock component failures. The conventional process for inspecting bogies under trains presents significant challenges for inspectors who need to visually check the tight and cluttered environment. We propose a miniature multi-link climbing robot, called BogieBot, that can be deployed inside the undercarriage areas of trains and other large vehicles for inspection and maintenance purposes. BogieBot can carry a visual sensor or manipulator on its main body. The novel compact design utilises six identical couple joints and two mechanically switchable magnetic grippers that together, empower multi-modal climbing and manipulation. The proposed mechanism is kinematically redundant, allowing the robot to perform self-motions in a tight space and manoeuvre around obstacles. The mechanism design and various analyses on the forward and inverse kinematic, work-space, and self-motions of BogieBot are presented. The robot is demonstrated to perform challenging navigation tasks in different scenarios involving simulated complex environments

Mechatronic Systems

Mechatronics, the synergistic blend of mechanics, electronics, and computer science, has evolved over the past twenty five years, leading to a novel stage of engineering design. By integrating the best design practices with the most advanced technologies, mechatronics aims at realizing high-quality products, guaranteeing at the same time a substantial reduction of time and costs of manufacturing. Mechatronic systems are manifold and range from machine components, motion generators, and power producing machines to more complex devices, such as robotic systems and transportation vehicles. With its twenty chapters, which collect contributions from many researchers worldwide, this book provides an excellent survey of recent work in the field of mechatronics with applications in various fields, like robotics, medical and assistive technology, human-machine interaction, unmanned vehicles, manufacturing, and education. We would like to thank all the authors who have invested a great deal of time to write such interesting chapters, which we are sure will be valuable to the readers. Chapters 1 to 6 deal with applications of mechatronics for the development of robotic systems. Medical and assistive technologies and human-machine interaction systems are the topic of chapters 7 to 13.Chapters 14 and 15 concern mechatronic systems for autonomous vehicles. Chapters 16-19 deal with mechatronics in manufacturing contexts. Chapter 20 concludes the book, describing a method for the installation of mechatronics education in schools