Design of an embracing-type climbing robot for variation diameter rod

Purpose For the climbing rod object with large diameter variation and the need of obstacle crossing, this paper aims to propose a new embracing-type climbing robot named as EVOC-I robot. Design/methodology/approach The design philosophy and structural scheme are introduced. The kinematic analysis of embracing and telescoping mechanisms is carried out to provide the theoretical foundation for the effective climbing of the robot. Based on the prototype robot, three preliminary experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the designed robot. Findings The theoretical and experimental analyses have verified the reasonability and effectiveness of the proposed robot design. Research limitations/implications As the preliminary study, the prototype still need a lot of improvement. The experimental verification is also limited. Future work will focus on improving the design and increasing the theoretical analysis, especially increasing experimental study and designing the next generation of the rod climbing robot. Practical implications The designed climbing robot can be used for climbing the rod with variation diameter and flange obstacle, especially the lightening rod in the transformer substation. Originality/value The paper designs a new climbing robot that integrates the ability of large variation diameter adaptation and obstacle crossing.