VERTICAL MOTION OF MINIATURE WALKING ROBOTS. STATE OF THE PROBLEM REVIEW

Abstract

The article reviews the state of the art of developing miniature walking robots for vertical movement due to friction forces between limbs and surface. In particular, special attention is paid to miniature walking robots - hexapods, as they have good stability and cross-country ability compared to other types of robots, both wheeled and tracked. Unlike other types of robots, hexapods can be fully autonomous. This makes them a potentially versatile tool for solving a variety of tasks in different areas, such as: 1) rescue operations - hexapods can penetrate destroyed buildings to assess the condition under the rubble, explore underwater spaces, and generally move in places where there is not enough space for movement and complex maneuvers; 2) military use - hexapods can clear mines, be used for reconnaissance or surveying, while saving lives due to the possibility of complete autonomy; 3) industrial applications - due to their maneuverability and cross-country ability, hexapod robots can become indispensable in quarries and construction sites where there are slopes, mountainous terrain, and generally where wheeled or tracked robots cannot easily move; 4) speleology - search and exploration of minerals inside caves, mines, etc; 5) accident response, in particular, in the nuclear power industry.
 Despite the long history of development and significant progress in this area, thanks to which many design solutions and modernizations are already known, the problem of vertical movement of small hexapod robots due to friction forces still remains unsolved.
 Existing developments are usually aimed at moving on surfaces by imitating the limbs of biological creatures (insects, animals, etc.), which allows robots to climb upwards thanks to an adhesive substance, grip the surface with mechanical claws, etc. Magnet and suction cup designs have also been known for a long time, but this solution requires a very powerful power source and is not universal.
 Therefore, one of the most promising areas of research is the vertical movement of hexapod robots due to friction forces between the limbs and the surface, since the robot remains autonomous and does not require special equipment and additional communication with a power source (compressor, etc.), and, more importantly, is able to move both on horizontal and vertical surfaces.
 At the moment, there are several examples of successful use of hexapods for vertical movement, but the review of works has shown that the problem of vertical movement of miniature hexapod robots remains relevant and requires further research and development. Existing achievements in this area give us hope that in the future we will demonstrate effective solutions to this problem and the widespread use of hexapods in various industries and science.