Analysis of an Arthropodal System for Design of a Climbing Robot

This paper will discuss research on ant locomotion, especially in climbing adaptability and transversing steel bridge configurations, for the design of a climbing robot for inspection and condition assessment of complex steel bridge structures. Experiments in ant locomotion were performed and captured using high-speed video equipment capable of recording at 1000fps. Analysis of the data found that certain body postures in ants are adopted before proceeding with their intended direction, such as when climbing a vertical obstacle. Information on ant body posture, compliance and movement in climbing will also be presented. Furthermore, the working volumes of ant leg pairs are determined through computer aided analysis, which provides essential data for determining possible ant foot positions for locomotion. Discussions on how the findings can be used in designing a climbing robot is also presented.

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