Development of a Wall Climbing Robot based on a Tree Climber's Motion
October 2016 - October 2017, SSN College of Engineering
Developed a wall climbing robot funded by undergrad institution to explore innovation in Mechanical Engineering. This was the first project in mechanical engineering that I undertook with 3 other team mates in my freshman year of undergrad assisted by Dr.K.L. Harikrishna, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering.
Basic construction of the robot chassis. Used Acrylic chassis to provide a light weight physical structure. Magnesium alloy plates were used as arms and a jointed mechanism was devised.
DC Servo motors were connected to wheels to provide the motion of climbing up and down.
Wall climbing motion was achieved using 12V DC Vacuum pumps connected to suction cups.
Control was given by connecting the servo motors and the vacuum cups to an Arduino Mega as shown in picture.
Achieved a climbing motion up to a 45 degree incline but faced issues beyond due to slippage of wheels and uneven weight distribution.
The Mechanism
The mechanism of climbing is similar to that of a tree climber ‘s motion where first the arms move up and the body follows along.
