Changlong Ye, Yunfei Zang, Suyang Yu and Chunying Jiang
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a multipurpose inspection robot that can both walk on the ground and climb on poles. The structure design, size optimization…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a multipurpose inspection robot that can both walk on the ground and climb on poles. The structure design, size optimization, kinematics analysis, experiment and arithmetic of the robot are discussed in the paper.
Design/methodology/approach
The robot consists of three adjustable modules and a two-degree-of-freedom parallel mechanism in tandem, and the wheel-finger mechanism of each module can realize wheel-finger opening and closing for fast movement and obstacle crossing. This paper uses geometric analysis and simulation analysis to derive size optimization, and vector coordinate method to derive kinematics. Finally, the experiment is carried out by simulating the working environment of the robot.
Findings
The robot can realize ground walking and ground turning through the robot entity prototype experiment on the built working environment and efficiently realize 0°–90° pole climbing by the assemble design, optimization and machining. In addition, the robot can also smoothly complete the state transition process from 0° ground to 90° pole climbing. Furthermore, the robot shows good environmental self-adaptation and can complete daily inspection work.
Originality/value
The robot can pitch and yaw at a large angle and has six-legged characteristics. It is a multipurpose inspection robot that can walk on the ground and climb on poles. And through structure design, size optimization, kinematics analysis and simulation, the existing robots’ common shortcomings such as poor barrier-crossing ability and poor environmental adaptability are solved.
Details
Keywords
Suyang Yu, Changlong Ye, Guanghong Tao, Jian Ding and Yinchao Wang
The rope-climbing robot that can cling to a rope for locomotion has been a popular piece of equipment for some overhead applications due to its high flexibility. In view of…
Abstract
Purpose
The rope-climbing robot that can cling to a rope for locomotion has been a popular piece of equipment for some overhead applications due to its high flexibility. In view of problems left by existing rope-climbing robots, this paper aims to propose a new-style rope-climbing robot named Finger-wheeled mechanism robot (FWMR)-II to improve their performance.
Design/methodology/approach
FWMR-II adopts a modular and link-type mechanical structure. With the finger-wheeled mechanism (FWM) module, the robot can achieve smooth and quick locomotion and good capability of obstacle-crossing on the rope and with the link module based on a spatial parallel mechanism, the robot adaptability for rope environments is improved further. The kinematic models that can present configurations of the FWM module and link module of the robot are established and for typical states of the obstacle-crossing process, the geometric definitions and constraints that can present the robot position relative to the rope are established. The simulation is performed with the optimization calculating method to obtain the robot adaptability for rope environments and the experiment is also conducted with the developed prototype to verify the robot performance.
Findings
From the simulation results, the adaptability for rope environments of FWMR-II are obtained and the advantage of FWMR-II compared with FWMR-I is also proved. The experiment results give a further verification for the robot design and analysis work.
Practical implications
The robot proposed in this study can be used for inspection of power transmission lines, inspection and delivery in mine and some other overhead applications.
Originality/value
An ingenious modular link-type robot is proposed to improve existing rope-climbing robots and the method established in this study is worthy of reference for obstacle-crossing analysis of other rope-climbing robots.
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Daniel Mbima and Francis Kamewor Tetteh
This study aims to examined the impact of business intelligence (BI) and supply chain ambidexterity (SCA) on operational performance (OP), contributing to dwarf knowledge in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examined the impact of business intelligence (BI) and supply chain ambidexterity (SCA) on operational performance (OP), contributing to dwarf knowledge in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the context of emerging economies. The mediating role of SCA was considered in the proposed model.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used the quantitative method to investigate the interdependencies between variables. As a result, 216 senior and middle managers/owners of SMEs in Ghana were surveyed using a purposive and convenient sampling method. SPSS version 23 and Smart PLS version 3 were used to conduct the research.
Findings
While the direct link among BI, SCA and OP was confirmed. The outcome also showed that SCA plays a significant mediating role between BI and OP among SMEs.
Practical implications
The outcome of the study indicates that SCA encourages the use of BI to generate superior OP among SMEs. This knowledge will improve the performance of SMEs and their ability to withstand the competition in the global market.
Originality/value
With the discovery of this study, the theory of a resource-based view now has some empirical evidence behind it. As a result, SMEs prioritize aspects that could improve their operations and implement tactics that would nurture better performance and competitive advantages.