A Comprehensive Study of Climbing and Walking Robots (CLWAR) Paradigms

Abstract

There are quite a number of naturally dangerous, expensive and hostile practices that are inimical and hazardous to the general health of human beings. Typical examples of such practices include emergence rescue mission, mineral exploration, planetary exploration, scaffolding, construction, painting of high rise buildings, surveillance as well as reconnaissance in urban environments. The use of human labor in these activities poses a high risk of accident which may result in fatalities and even death. One of the promising solutions to this problem is the use of climbing and walking robots (CLWAR). A CLWAR is typically defined as a mobile robot that possesses manipulative, perceptive, communicative and cognitive features which enable it to perform in diverse environments such as medicine, transportation, engineering as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT). A CLWAR has two basic characteristics. These include locomotion and adhesion. With respect to locomotion, a CLWAR can be legged, winged, wheeled, tracked, crawling or hybrid. Adhesion refers to the ability of the robot to attach itself to surfaces such as walls, floors, glasses and ceilings. This is usually done by using adhesive mechanisms such as suction force, magnetic force, ropes, grippers and van der Waals forces. Nevertheless, the use of CLWAR is limited because their performances are usually unsatisfactory. This is because they are still bedeviled by locomotion and adhesion challenges. Hence, this paper comprehensively examines the typical examples of CLWAR, their applications in diverse domains as well as their challenges. This paper also considers the biologically inspired principles of locomotion and adhesion in CLWAR. The paper recommends that the environment, structure of the robot and the type of tasks to be performed by the robot are some of the factors to be considered during the design of a CLWAR.