Climbing robots using adhesion force - Microspine

  5. Climbing robot using microspine

  There are climbing robots using microspines which are mimicking spiders, insects, cats' feet. This mechanism consumes low-energy when not moving and has strong forces on soft material, such as wood. These robots can't climb glass, metal or smooth surfaces. But these kinds of materials rarely exist in natural environment, so robots with mirospines are widely used.

  Spinybot II is a climbing robot on hard walls [1]. It climbs reliably on a wide variety of hard, outdoor surfaces including concrete, stucco and brick. It employs two rows of spines on each foot. Each spine having a tip diameter of approximately 25㎛ with maximum force per spine/asperity contact of 1-2 N.

Fig. 1 View of upper section of SpinybotII on concrete wall and detailed view of several spines independently engaging asperities on the concrete surface.

  Its climbing speed is about 2.3cm/s and uses 7 servo motors with 10 toes in each leg. The sequence of motions is accomplished using an under-actuated mechanism consisting of a single rotary RC servo motor and an elastic band that is initially loose and becomes taut as the leg moves upward. At the end of stroke, a hard stop causes the leg to remain pressed against the wall.

Fig. 2 Side and plan view of one foot containing 10 toes The toes can deflect independently of each other. In addition, the entire foot can displace in the distal (y) direction due to an unactuated prismatic joint. The attachment trajectory of the foot consists of an upward (+y) motion, followed by lift-off motion (-x), touchdown (+x), and a downward pull (-y).