Open AccessAn Omni-Directional Wall-Climbing Microrobot with Magnetic Wheels Directly Integrated with Electromagnetic Micromotors
Author(s) -
Xiaoning Tang,
Dawei Zhang,
Zhenbo Li,
Jiapin Chen
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of advanced robotic systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1729-8814
pISSN - 1729-8806
DOI - 10.5772/45663
Subject(s) - actuator , torque , computer science , magnet , mechanism (biology) , climbing , robot , microelectromechanical systems , mechanical engineering , automotive engineering , simulation , materials science , engineering , physics , structural engineering , artificial intelligence , optoelectronics , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
This paper presents an omni‐directional wall‐ climbing microrobot with magnetic wheels. The integral design with an actuator and adhesive is realized by integrating stators and rotors of an MEMS‐based electromagnetic micromotor with a magnetic wheel. The omni‐directional wall‐climbing mechanism is designed by a set of steering gears and three standard magnetic wheels. The required torque and magnetic force for microrobot movement are derived by its static analysis. The size of the magnetic wheel is optimized, with consideration of its own design constraints, by ANSOFT and Pro/Engineer simulation so as to reduce unnecessary torque consumption under the same designed load. Related experiments demonstrate that the microrobot (diameter: 26mm; height: 16.4; mass: 7.2g; load capacity: 3g) we have developed has a good wall‐climbing ability and flexible mobility, and it can perform visual detection in a ferromagnetic environment