Climbing glass

Pat Alonzi

Hi all,

We are working on a new project and have to build a new robot that is capable of moving vertical on a sheet of glass. Has anyone worked on a project like this and have any recommendations?

Thanks,
-Pat

Franklin

Like This? bdml.stanford.edu/twiki/bin/view/Main/StickyBot

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- Stephen

LSB

Yes... cut holes in the glass at regular, convinient intervals.

Duffer

There was a child's (and child-like adult) toy that looked like an octopus with too many legs that was made of a sticky rubber-like substance that would climb "down" a wall. You just threw it at a wall, window or other flat vertical surface and it would stick and then start to release it's tenticles under it's own weight and sort of roll slowly down the surface (it was sticky when clean and dry, but left no residue on release). If you could find this kind of material or something similar, it might do the trick. The real trick is to find a substance that, over a large area like a tank tread, has enough shear strength to support your Bot, yet requires a release strength at the end of the tread that your Bot can generate. There are a number of gel adhesives in roll or tape form that might work, but you would have to experiment with different wheel/track combinations to work out the cantact patch area that would be required for your particular Bot.

Good luck and please let us know how it works out.

Steve

T Chap

With some solenoids or motors you could get something like these devices to work.

www.anver.com/document/vacuum%20handcups/hndcup-manual.htm

Post Edited (TChapman) : 4/6/2007 6:49:10 PM GMT

Duffer

These links might give you a starting place. The book that talks about using suction cups without the need for a vacuum pump looks interesting. I seem to remember wind-up toys that walked on suction cup feet (I won't tell you how long ago that was though).

Butyl rubber tape used to seal auto windshields
http://wilsoncheong.trustpass.alibaba.com/product/11732307/Vital_Tape.html

Used for EKG leads. Sticky, but low residue on release
http://www.kendall-ltp.com/pdf/acage.pdf

Foam backed weather-stripping tape
http://www.foamtapes.net/shop/neoprene.jsp

Double-sided carpet tape - clean release
http://www.browntapeproducts.com/DMICatalog/scripts/product.php?code=DC-5227X

Climbing robots using suction cups and no vacuum pump
http://www.springerlink.com/content/q6683612p6140402/

Concept for Energy-autarkic, Autonomous Climbing Robots
http://www.springerlink.com/content/l4nhr750117m3v51/

Climbatron Wall Walking Robot
http://www.spacetoys.com/proddetail.php?prod=TRB15&cat=24



Good luck, Steve

iamscottym

Look into hexapods with vacuum cups on the feet. I don't remember any of the links offhand, but I had been researching the concept for a robotics competition I participated in. I opted for a different approach (a compressed air propelled flying bot), but then we only had to bridge a gap, we didn't explicitly have to climb a wall. I'll see if I can find those links.