Waalbot: An agile small-scale wall climbing robot utilizing pressure sensitive adhesives

This paper proposes a small-scale agile wall climbing robot able to navigate on smooth surfaces of any orientation, including vertical and inverted surfaces, which uses adhesive elastomer materials for attachment. Using two actuated legs with rotary motion and two passive revolute joints at each foot the robot can climb and steer in any orientation. Due to its compact design, a high degree of miniaturization is possible. It has onboard power, sensing, computing, and wireless communication which allow for semi-autonomous operation. Various aspects of a functioning prototype design and performance are discussed in detail, including leg and feet design and gait control. The current prototype can climb 90 degrees slopes at a speed of 6 cm/s and steer to any angle. This robot is intended for inspection and surveillance applications and, ultimately, space missions.