Abstract
A novel robot capable of performing maintenance and inspection tasks for railway bridges is proposed in this paper. Termed CMBOT (climbing manipulator robot), the robot is a combination of a five-degrees-of-freedom (5-Dof) biped climbing robot with two electromagnetic feet and a redundant manipulator with 7-Dof. This capability offers important advantages for performing maintenance and inspection tasks for railway bridges. Several fundamental issues of the CMBOT, such as robotic system development and motion planning algorithms, are addressed in this paper. A series of simulations and prototype experiments were conducted to validate the proposed robotic systems and motion planning algorithm. The results of the experiments show the reliability of the robotic systems and the efficiency of the motion planning algorithm.
Highlights
Steel guardrails and brackets are important structures that support railway bridges and provide protection for passing trains
The climbing manipulator manipulator robot robot (CMBOT) has great potential to be applied to other infrastructure by modifying the adhesion method and manipulation tools
Since every surface of the angle steel bar and round steel bar that is exposed to air should be inspected and maintained regularly, the CMBOT should have the ability to attach to the narrow surface of the steel bar, move on the steel frame with irregular gaps, and touch every surface of the steel bar
Summary
Steel guardrails and brackets are important structures that support railway bridges and provide protection for passing trains. Continuous maintenance and inspection are required to ensure the longevity of steel structures. Hazardous conditions due to the bridge height and wind pressure from moving trains can cause difficulties in maintaining or inspecting railway bridges. Workers must use heavy personal protective equipment and stop working when a train passes by. Traditional manual operation encounters many problems, such as poor security and low efficiency. Deploying special robots to replace humans can solve the problems mentioned above
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