A Novel Type of Wall-Climbing Robot with a Gear Transmission System Arm and Adhere Mechanism Inspired by Cicada and Gecko

Abstract

To support the inspections of different contact walls (rough and smooth), a novel type of wall-climbing robot was proposed. Its design embodied a new gear transmission system arm and an adherence mechanism inspired by cicadas and geckos. The actuating structure consisted of a five-bar link and a gear transmission for the arm stretching, which was driven by the servos. The linkers and gears formed the palm of this robot for climbing on a line. Moreover, the robot’s adherence method for the rough surfaces used bionic spine materials inspired by the cicada. For smooth surface, a bionic adhesion material was proposed inspired by the gecko. To assess the adherence mechanism of the cicada and gecko, the electron microscope images of the palm of the cicada and gecko were obtained by an electron microscope. The 3D printing technology and photolithography technology were utilized to manufacture the robot’s structures. The adherence force experiments demonstrated the bionic spines and bionic materials achieved good climbing on cloth, stones, and glass surfaces. Furthermore, a new gait for the robot was designed to ensure its stability. The dynamic characteristics of the robot’s gear transmission were obtained.