Movement Analysis of Rotating-Finger Cable Inspection Robot

The robot detection and maintenance routine of high-voltage cables are of great significance to the normal operation of electrical power system. Aiming at the problems of poor obstacle-crossing capability and insufficient drive capability to the inspection robot at present, a three-module rotating-finger cable inspection robot is developed, which can move over a long distance on the cable. The robot is composed of three standard rotating-finger modules in series, each of which can cross obstacles via staggered rapid movement of the rotating-finger. According to the structure and movement characteristics of the modular robot, the static model of the robot under various obstacle-crossing attitudes is established, and the detailed static analysis of the movement process is carried out to obtain two relationships: the relationship among drive force, friction force, and permissible gradient, the relationship between robot configuration and obstacle-crossing attitude. The obstacle-crossing movement is optimized to realize the high-efficiency obstacle crossing. The correctness of the above analysis is verified by experiments and motion simulation.