Abstract:
Climbing robots can investigate scientifically valuable sites that are inaccessible to conventional rovers due to steep terrain features. Robots equipped with microspine grippers are particularly well-suited to ascending rocky cliff faces, but existing designs are either large and slow, or limited to relatively flat surfaces such as buildings. We have developed a novel free-climbing robot to bridge this gap through innovations in microspine fabrication, gripper design, and force control. We use 3D-printing to simplify the microspine manufacturing process, enabling rapid prototyping of new designs. A fully passive gripper allows secure grasping while avoiding the mass, complexity, and slow speed of previous actuated solutions. Forces are distributed among the robot’s grippers using an optimization-based control strategy to minimize the risk of unexpected detachment. The robot prototype has demonstrated vertical climbing on both flat cinder block walls and uneven rock surfaces in full Earth gravity.

Committee:
Aaron Johnson
Zeynep Temel
William (Red) Whittaker
Jonathan King