Climbing Quadruped Robot for Nondestructive Testing

Abstract

This paper presents design, construction and control of a quadruped robot, capable to maneuver on vertical surfaces. A nondestructive system integrated with the robot enables location and tracking of rebars in concrete structures. This paper illustrates robot manipulation in the kinematic approach and practical application of the platform dedicated for nondestructive testing. The purpose of this paper is to present the design, construction and control of the quadruped robot, capable of maneuvering even on vertical surfaces of reinforced concrete structures. The non-destructive system integrated with the robot enables the location and tracking of the rebars in concrete structures. The robot's ability of climbing is assured by the high quality vacuum system. The prototype of the measurement platform is equipped with the ejector pumps and suction cups, which make robot adhesion dependent on the surface roughness. This paper discusses briefly theoretical aspects of robotic manipulation. Also, computer simulations of the robot representation in a reference configuration are presented. In the last section potential of the robot platform for application in non-destructive testing is described.