The running characteristics of a screw-principle microrobot in a small bent pipe

This paper describes the development of a microrobot based on the screw principle, and its running characteristics in a small bent pipe. To realize running in the bent pipe, a new small wheel preloading unit, which can keep the posture of the microrobot stable in the pipe, and a head guidance unit, which can prevent interference arising between the microrobot and the inner pipe wall, were developed. With these improvements the microrobot ran successfully in a small bent pipe of 27 mm in inner diameter and of 200 mm in the radius of curvature.