Obstacle performance analysis for a novel inspection robot with passive joints

To complete the power transmission line inspection task successfully, the inspection robot has to cross dampers, splicing sleeves and other obstacles installed in the line quickly and smoothly. A novel inspection robot with passive joints is presented, with its quasi-static model being set up for obstacle-crossing analysis. The analysis result indicates that the passive joints ensure at least one gripper keep close during obstacle-crossing and the robot obstacle performance is enhanced. It will be especially benefit of obstacle-crossing in the inclined line with a large angle and cutting down the robot working risk. In addition, some robot mechanism parameters are determined by optimization method to find the maximum height the robot can cross. Finally, the reliability and stability of the robot obstacle crossing is validated by simulation and field experiment. It provides the theoretic reference for the robot mechanical design and autonomous control.