Search results

The aim of the research is to design, build and test a robot able to autonomously execute slope consolidation tasks.

A multidisciplinary approach has been adopted to solve the problem: mechanical and control architecture have been conceived simultaneously. Modularity and lifecycle are considered. The robot can climb by means of four legs and two ropes. The drilling system is hosted onboard. Drilling process is fully automated, motion can be controlled in tele‐operation.

The performance of the first prototype has satisfied the end‐user; new on‐site tests and improvements are planned.

Roboclimber is cumbersome; both robot transport and on‐site positioning are complex operations. Coordination between legs motion and ropes tensioning is a difficult task.

The system reduces operating costs and working time, while avoiding the human presence in unsafe and harsh environments.

Roboclimber is the first robot able to do heavy duty works on rocky walls

To present an entirely new technology to be used in the in‐service inspection of storage tanks for hazardous products in several different industries.

Current interior storage oil tank plate inspection is a very expensive and time‐consuming task. The related tasks involve high cost, several hazards to environment and the operators involved in the cleaning jobs. Several research areas were investigated during the development of this tool, fundamentally robotics and non‐destructive test tools. Initial trials in laboratory were complemented with a field test program in near‐real conditions.

A new design of tool for in‐service inspection of such equipments proved to be feasible to be constructed and operated and in accordance with current safety regulations.

New robotics application in non‐destructive testing methodologies for application in in‐service storage equipments. The internal conditions possible to find in the interior of a storage tank, like fixtures, properties of the stored products (inflammable and aggressive), sludge and sand on the bottom, no ambient light, etc., are significant challenges to the development of such a tool.

Developed a robotized tool for inspection of the floor and walls of in‐service tanks, in order to allow an evaluation of the condition of the plates of these tanks, avoiding the long period, hazards and high costs necessary for creating the conditions for reality out of service inspection.

The novelty of the RobTank Inspec project could be evaluated from the two or three existing competitors in the world, and the results of the surveys undertaken.

Aims to describe design, prototyping and characteristics of a pole climbing/manipulating robot with ability of passing bends and branches of the pole.

Introducing a hybrid (parallel/serial) four degree of freedom (DOF) mechanism as the main part of the robot and also introduces a unique gripper design for pole climbing robots.

Finds that a robot, with the ability of climbing and manipulating on poles with bends and branches, needs at least 4 DOFs. Also an electrical cylinder is a good option for climbing robots and has some advantages over pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders.

The robot is semi‐industrial size. Design and manufacturing of an industrial size robot are a good suggestion for future works.

With some changes on the gripper module and the last tool module, the robot is able to do some service works like pipe testing, pipe/pole cleaning, light bulb changing in highways etc.

Design and manufacturing of a pole‐climbing and manipulating robot with minimum DOFs for construction and service works.

The paper describes a pipe repair conducted in August 2004 using two types of snake‐arm robot. The pipe was located 5 m below the reactor core of Ringhals 1 nuclear reactor.

The two types of robot worked co‐operatively to replace a section of critical pipe. The 23‐degree of freedom arm snaked around obstructing pipes to positions cameras in a humanly unreachable location in order to give the ideal view of the work site. The more substantial second arm used 13 degrees of freedom to deliver fixtures, cutting tools, gas shields, inspection equipment and also conducted both tack welding and continuous welding.

The leaking pipe was repaired manually during the 2004 outage. The robots successfully completed the externally assessed Factory Acceptance Tests which involved copying the complete procedure on a purpose built mock‐up. The robots are now on standby for 2005 and beyond.

The successful completion of this extremely difficult task indicates that snake‐arm robots are now a viable solution to a variety of complex access tasks in all industries including aerospace, pharmaceuticals, the miltary sector and nuclear industries.

The paper describes a procedure that has never been attempted before using two completely new designs of redundant snake‐arm robot.

Aims to review the CLAWAR 2004 conference on climbing and walking robots.

Selects key papers from the conference and presents a brief outline of the research undertaken and the conclusions reached.

The CLAWAR conference covered every aspect of climbing and walking robots including design, locomotion, navigation, actuation and control, sensors, tele‐operation and tele‐presence. Researchers spoke of robots for applications ranging from de‐mining, tank inspection and building cleaning to walking aids for the disabled.

Focuses only on part of the CLAWAR 2004 conference, which featured some 120 presentations.

Climbing robots are starting to achieve practical applications such as cleaning building facades and windows.

Outlines trends in the development of climbing and walking robots.

Highlights new robots introduced in the fall 2004 offer various benefits such as lower prices, internal cable management for arc welding, reduced floor space requirements, environmental protection and features for quicker application design and commissioning.

Attended various trade shows and contacted key vendors for information on product introductions.

Vendors are addressing more and more application needs with features like cable management/protection, smaller footprints, lower pricing, greater application integration and other features.

Not all the new products which may have been introduced have been covered.

Users and systems integrators can find answers to previously troubling aspects of robot applications.

Highlights new robot offerings that may be real problem solutions for users who previously considered a robot solution as not fully addressing their requirements.

Aims to measure the development and performance of a sensor‐augmented industrial robotic system for handling steel bearing races in an unstructured environment.

Performs exhaustive experimentation during installation of the robotic system to assess its performance capability in terms of average lifting capacity and cycle time of operation.

Reveals that improvement can be achieved without damping, though rubber padding still appears to be useful sometimes in higher speed operations. Also unloading operations appear to cause more trouble than loading.

The introduction of the robotic system will culminate in lower cycle time, increased productivity and optimal utilization of the annealing furnace.

Will be beneficial for those involved in material handling operations in an unstructured environment as opposed to more familiar conditions.

Describes the design, construction, and performance of the OmniTread serpentine robot. Provides a review of other designs in this new area of mobile robotics. Presents innovative and unique mechanical and control solutions.

A theoretical analysis of key aspects of the mechanical design and their implications on the performance of the robot is presented. Extensive experimentation and testing helped optimize choices of materials for the critical components: tracks and pneumatic bellows. Performance was evaluated by an independent third party: the Southwest Research Institute.

It was found that pneumatic bellows are optimal joint actuators for serpentine robots. They can provide both strength and compliance, depending on the task, at minimal volume and weight.

The described prototype is tethered to external sources of electrical and pneumatic power. A smaller and fully self‐contained version of the OmniTread is currently under development.

A fully functional OmniTread serpentine robot will provide unprecedented mobility on rough terrain, such as the rubble of a collapsed building. The ability to climb over high obstacles and span large gaps, while still fitting through small openings suggests use of this robot in urban search and rescue, industrial inspection, and military reconnaissance tasks.

The OmniTread serpentine robot incorporates multiple original features, which resulted in three recent patents. Most notably are the Integrated pneumatic joint actuator with proportional position and stiffness control system and the “Tracks all Around” design. These features provide dramatic performance improvements in serpentine robots.

To construct a commercial agricultural manipulation for fruit picking and handling without human intervention.

Describes a research activity involving a totally autonomous robot for fruit picking and handling crates.

Picking time for the robotic fruit picker at 8.7 s per orange is longer than the evaluated cited time of 6 s per orange.

The final system, recently tested, has not yet achieved a level of productivity capable of replacing human pickers. Further mechanical modifications and more robust and adaptive algorithms are needed to achieve a stronger robot system.

Experimental results and new simulations look very promising.

Will help to limit costs and guarantee a high degree of reliability.