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Austin Torres, Conner Petru, Kraig Thompson, Matthew Wash
Background:
Modern robots are most commonly seen walking on legs or driving on wheels. These modes of transportation perform well on flat ground and open spaces, but in less optimal conditions they tend to falter. Some situations may call for robots that don't walk or roll, but instead climb or crawl. These sorts of applications are less explored in the field of robotics, but they hold great promise for endeavors such as cave surveying or search-and-rescue. In our project, we hope to delve into the challenges facing climbing robotics and explore potential solutions with kinematic motion.
Problem Statement:
We plan Our team has set out to develop a mechanism that is able to climb and can pull itself up between along two parallel walls. This will require precisely timed motions that distribute forces evenly throughout the robot, resulting in a steady movement upward. In order to keep the robot stable as it scales the walls, large friction forces must be employed. In order to obtain this friction, distributed loads must be applied. A simple joint cannot easily provide such a load, and so it is necessary that we utilize more complicated linkages in our designsort of locomotion calls for a refined set of movements distributed evenly and symmetrically throughout the robot. If progress is to be made along the walls, these movements must apply significant forces so that the robot can be pulled forward. Such a large and precise load cannot be created by a simple joint, which is why we must employ a series of more complicated linkages to define our robot's motion.
Table of Contents:
- 1.1 - Initial Proposal
- 1.2 - Kinematic Analysis
- 1.3 - Design Process
- 1.4 - Implementation
- 1.5 - Final Demonstration
- 1.6 - Conclusions and Future Work