To enable the capacity of climbing robots to work on steep surfaces, especially on inverted surfaces, is a fundamental but challenging task. This capacity can extend the reachable workspace and applications of climbing robots. A track-type inverted climbing robot called SpinyCrawler was developed in this paper. Using a spiny track with an opposed gripping mechanism, the robot was experimentally demonstrated to have the ability of generating considerable adhesion to achieve stable inverted climbing. First, to guarantee reliable attachment of the robot on rough ceilings, a spiny gripper inspired by the opposed gripping prolegs of caterpillars is designed, and a gripping model of the interaction between spines and the ceiling asperities is established and analyzed. Second, a spiny track is developed by assembling dozens of spiny grippers to enable continuous attachment. A cam mechanism is introduced in the robot design without extra actuators to achieve stable attachment and easy detachment during continuous climbing. Finally, climbing experiments are conducted on different surfaces, using a SpinyCrawler prototype. Experimental results demonstrated stable climbing ability on various rough inverted and vertical surfaces, including concrete walls, crushed stone walls, sandpaper walls, brick walls, and brick ceilings.

中文翻译：

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具有生物启发性棘爪的履带式反向攀爬机器人

要使攀爬机器人能够在陡峭的表面（尤其是在颠倒的表面）上工作，是一项基本但具有挑战性的任务。这种能力可以扩展攀爬机器人的工作空间和应用范围。本文开发了一种称为SpinyCrawler的履带式倒攀机器人。通过使用具有相对抓紧机构的多刺履带，该机器人在实验上被证明具有产生相当大的附着力以实现稳定的反向攀爬的能力。首先，为了确保机器人在粗糙的天花板上的可靠连接，设计了一种由毛毛虫的相对抓握前腿启发的棘爪，并建立并分析了棘爪与天花板粗糙之间相互作用的夹持模型。第二，通过组装数十个有刺的抓爪来实现连续连接，从而开发出有刺的轨道。机器人设计中引入了一种凸轮机构，无需额外的致动器，可在连续攀爬过程中实现稳定的连接和轻松的拆卸。最后，使用SpinyCrawler原型在不同的表面上进行攀登实验。实验结果表明，在各种粗糙的倒置和垂直表面上，包括混凝土墙，碎石墙，砂纸墙，砖墙和砖天花板，都具有稳定的爬坡能力。