SnailBot Crawls Up Buildings To Clean And Paint
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Friday, 12 of June , 2009 at 1:24 am
It’s a good thing robots aren’t afraid of heights, because it looks like they’re going to spend a lot of time climbing up things in all kinds of different ways. This snail robot uses a rotating set of vacuum discs to stick to and climb vertical surfaces, much like this design. The back half of the bot is modular, and can be swapped out for window washing, painting, carrying stuff, taking pictures, or (in an emergency) rescuing people.
The robot doesn’t have any onboard power systems; instead, a computer and air compressor sit on the roof of the building and send commands and vacuum down pressure to the bot via an umbilical. The idea is that buildings will each get outfitted with their own personal robosnail that lives on the roof and keeps things looking pretty. While it’s mostly a concept, the relevant parts of the robot (the climbing mechanism and the painting/washing tail) have both been successfully demonstrated, so who knows, maybe a robot snail will be coming to a building near you sometime soon.
[ JDF ] VIA [ Robot Snob ]
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Category: Biorobotics, Industrial
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