in the countries of Western Europe, Japan, the United States, Korea, China and Russia.
To date, there are mainly experimental samples of such robots.
Prerequisites and means for solving the problem. Mobile works [2–5] are
equipped with devices to fix the robot on surfaces of arbitrary orientation, and in studies
[6, 7] hybrid drives are proposed that can improve the energy efficiency of mobile
robots. Technical solutions [8–11] allow the robot to move on surfaces oriented at
different angles to the horizon, but only in 2D space, that is, in a plane. In the general
case, the variations of the constructions of the above-mentioned robots restrict their
movement only in the Cartesian coordinate system.
Unlike the aforementioned technical solutions, the robot model [12] allows
servicing objects in the cylindrical coordinate system, in particular, objects such as
trees, but with a soft porous surface for the movement of the robot, which limits the
technological capabilities of mobile robots. At a time when there are objects facilities
that are also close to the cylindrical coordinate system, for example, electric grid posts,
columns, pipes of thermal power plants and the like. In addition, the mobile robot
should also work in a system of angular coordinates, which is typical for humans. The
development of systems for connecting the robot to the surface of motion is a technical
solution [13], which uses adhesion technology. However, current implementations of
this technology are characterized by an extremely low speed of movement of the robot
due to the effect of slow adhesion. This property still prevents the industrial use of
adhesion as a method of fixing the robot to a surface of arbitrary orientation.
Below are the areas of operation of mobile robots in the manufacturing sector.
Work in these areas requires counteracting gravity. Each of the applications of mobile
robots (Table 1) predetermines not only their numerical technical characteristics, but
mainly – the type of coupling system with the displacement surface, firstly, and the
type of robot transmission, and secondly. Comparing in the first approximation, the
service objects listed in Table 1, it is easy to verify the relationship of the characteristics
of objects, in terms of their topology, physical and mechanical properties of the
displacement surface and the hypothetical expected to perform technological
operations with the characteristics of the robots themselves. Thus, the problem of
synthesizing mobile robots capable of performing technological operations in a space
of arbitrary orientation is topical.
Table 1 Areas of use of mobile robots
Function
Operating area
Recommended clutch
systems
Permissible
transmission
Maintenance
of high-rise buildings
Vacuum
Wheel gearl,
Walking
mechanism
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