Analysis and design of attachment module based on sine vibrating suction method for wall-climbing robot

This paper presents an attachment module for mini wall-climbing robot based on sine vibrating suction method. The basic idea of this method is that the vacuum can be generated inside a suction cup attaching on a surface, if a periodically vibrating force directly drives the suction cup. In this paper, mathematical model of sine vibrating suction method based on Bernoulli's equation is built. It is found that the vacuum degree in the suction cup is mainly determined by two parameters, namely the amplitude and frequency. To verify the correctness of the analyses, an experimental platform was developed. The results indicate that the vibrating suction method can definitely produce continuous vacuum. According to the experiment result, an attachment module for wall-climbing robot was developed. Moreover, the validity was verified by a series of suction experiments on different wall. Finally, the feasibility of the attachment module was basically testified on a caterpillar wall-climbing robot.