A Novel Worm-inspired Wall Climbing Robot with Sucker-microspine Composite Structure

Abstract

The wall climbing robot is designed by utilizing the foot design composed of the suckers and microspines. The microspine structure in which each microspine is independently attached to the soft sponge can adapt to the unevenness of the wall and increase frictional resistance for the suction cup. The main parameters of the structure is determined through the computer simulation, theoretical derivation and experimental testing. The principle of this composite structure is verified through a large number of experiments. In combination with the above mentioned sucker-microspine composite structure and the movement of the imitation worm, a new type of wall climbing robot is proposed. The proposed robot is very capable of carrying heavy loads and suitable to be used as wall mobile platform compared with the conventional multi-foot and wheel-type wall climbing robots.