Brett Kennedy, Avi Okon, Hrand Aghazarian, Mircea Badescu, Xiaoqi Bao, Yoseph Bar‐Cohen, Zensheu Chang, Borna E. Dabiri, Mike Garrett, Lee Magnone and Stewart Sherrit
Introduces the Lemur IIb robot which allows the investigation of the technical hurdles associated with free climbing in steep terrain. These include controlling the distribution…
Abstract
Purpose
Introduces the Lemur IIb robot which allows the investigation of the technical hurdles associated with free climbing in steep terrain. These include controlling the distribution of contact forces during motion to ensure holds remain intact and to enable mobility through over‐hangs. Efforts also can be applied to further in‐situ characterization of the terrain, such as testing the strength of the holds and developing models of the individual holds and a terrain map.
Design/methodology/approach
A free climbing robot system was designed and integrated. Climbing end‐effector were investigated and operational algorithms were developed.
Findings
A 4‐limbed robotic system used to investigate several aspects of climbing system design including the mechanical system (novel end‐effectors, kinematics, joint design), sensing (force, attitude, vision), low‐level control (force‐control for tactile sensing and stability management), and planning (joint trajectories for stability). A new class of Ultrasonic/Sonic Driller/Corer (USDC) end‐effectors capable of creating “holds” in rock and soil as well as sampling those substrates.
Practical implications
Planetary exploration of cliff faces. Search and rescue in steep terrain. Robotic scouting and surveillance in natural environments.
Originality/value
The technologies developed on this platform will be used to build an advanced system that will climb slopes up to and including vertical faces and overhangs and be able to react forces to maintain stability and do useful work (e.g. sample acquisition/instrument placement).
Details
Keywords
Humans throughout history have always sought to mimic the appearance, mobility, functionality, intelligent operation, and thinking processes of biological creatures. Advancements…
Abstract
Humans throughout history have always sought to mimic the appearance, mobility, functionality, intelligent operation, and thinking processes of biological creatures. Advancements in artificial muscles, artificial intelligence, artificial vision and many other biomimetic related fields are leading to many benefits for humankind. One of the newest among these fields is the artificial muscle, which is the moniker for electroactive polymers. The potential of these materials is enormous and, as challenges are addressed and new effective materials are introduced, capabilities that were considered as science fiction are becoming engineering reality. This paper covers the current state‐of‐the‐art and challenges to make biomimetic robots use artificial muscles.