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The ability to climb walls (or any vertical surface) is a tremendously useful capability for both biological systems and human-made systems. Biological systems can use this climbing capability to protect themselves from ground-based enemies or to obtain an advantageous position for surveillance. Human-made systems find similar advantages particularly if one of their core functions is gathering intelligence, surveillance or reconnaissance (ISR). Climbing vertical surfaces is a difficult task as evidenced by the relatively few mechanical systems that have climbing capabilities. Biological systems use a wide variety of methods to climb. In this work, we show how a mind map, which displays numerous ways that biological systems climb, can be used to develop concepts and prototypes for mechanical systems that climb. In particular, a mind map that contains eleven different examples of how biological systems climb is used in the concept generation or ideation step in a design process to produce numerous ideas for mechanical climbing systems. The mind map contains both pictorial and text information on the climbing capability for the biological entity. In addition, a mind map that provides ways that additive manufacturing might enhance the design was developed and used. After use of the mind maps for ideation, a “down-select” process was used on the set of concepts resulting in the selection of two concepts for prototyping and testing. One concept involved attaching a ladderlike structure to the wall and creating a robot with ladder climbing abilities. The second concept implemented a projectile that was launched and adhered to the wall. The projectile had an attached tether. A robot then used the tether to winch itself up the wall. The mind maps were found to be effective in assisting the development of concepts for wall-climbing capability and the resulting two prototypes showed definitive feasibility of the two wall-climbing concepts.

A Bio-Inspired Mind Map to Assist in Concept Generation for Wall Climbing Systems: Development, Assessment, and Resulting Prototypes