Modelling, simulation and experimental validation of wheel and arm locomotion based wall-climbing robot

This article presents modelling, simulation, and development of a wall-climbing robot based on coupled wheel and arm-type locomotion mechanism. The developed robot consists of two mobile modules connected with a robot arm mechanism. The actuation of the robot arm is inspired by inchworm locomotion, particularly during wall-to-wall transition, obstacle avoidance, and uneven surface locomotion. Easiness in the interchanging of wheel to arm and vice versa makes the robot more effective compared to previously developed wall-climbing robots. The kinematic and dynamic model for the proposed coupled wheel and arm locomotion concept has been established. A combination of particle swarm optimization (PSO) and proportional, integral, derivatives (PID) feedback control algorithm has been developed using MATLAB to simulate the different cases of robot motions. The developed prototype of the wall-climbing robot is used to verify the coupled wheel and arm locomotion concept in various wall climbing scenarios. The simulation and experimental findings show good comparisons and validate the model-based design of the wall-climbing robot.