Development of a New Biped Robot with Adaptive Suction Modules for Climbing on Curved Surfaces

Regular cleaning and maintenance of high-altitude pipes and curved surfaces on high-rise buildings are high-risk tasks for human workers due to the difficulty of working on curved planes. To address such challenge, automated robots are widely used for cleaning buildings with flat walls, but they cannot climb on curved surfaces, limiting their practical applications. This paper proposes a novel biped curved-surface climbing robot (BCCR) with five-degree-of-freedom (5-DOF) motion. The BCCR features adaptive vacuum suction modules that can adhere to both curved and flat surfaces, allowing seamless movement of the BCCR across various surfaces. Each terminal suction module is composed of three small suction cups, which are capable of rotating in all directions to achieve adaptive adhesion on various surfaces. The 5-DOF structure enables the robot to cross obstacles and makes it highly versatile for various cleaning tasks on a wide range of surfaces, including large curved pipes. The mechanism design and analytical modeling of the BCCR are carried out, demonstrating its robust curved-surface climbing capabilities. Moreover, a prototype is fabricated for experimental investigation. The results indicate that the proposed 5-DOF BCCR can achieve stable climbing on curved surfaces.