Wall climbing robot enabled by a novel and robust vibration suction technology

Vibration suction method (VSM) is a novel suction strategy for wall climbing robot. Regular vibration can improve the suction cup's adsorption capacity. Through the study of the first vibration suction robotic foot (VSRF I) the applicability of VSM was verified while the suction capability, safety, and wall adaptability of it was not well enough. Based on these, a new vibration suction robotic foot (VSRF II) was designed, fabricated and tested. Experiment results showed that the VSRF II performs better than the former design. A mini multi-joint wall climbing robot was designed and fabricated based on the VSRF II. Gait planning for three kinds of typical walking movements: walking in straight line, turning, and face-to-face transfer were made. The experiment results verified the feasibility of the robot and it can walk from the ground to the wall, crawl and turn on the wall and then walk from the wall to the ceiling.