A Curvature-Adaptive Climbing Hexapod Robot

Abstract

Large components, such as wind turbine blades, often exhibit significant curvature variations, presenting substantial challenges for climbing robots. To improve the adaptability and mobility of hexapod climbing robots on such surfaces, we propose a Curvature-Adaptive Hexapod robot system. The mechanical design incorporates an underactuated leg structure to expand the foot-end range of motion, while a fully integrated configuration facilitates deployment. Algorithmically, we introduce a variable curvature adaptive control method and an omnidirectional motion control strategy. By decoupling and automatically adjusting body posture, the robot achieves climbing capability on variably curved surfaces without reliance on external sensors. To validate the robot system, we construct a prototype and conduct experiments in simulations and factory settings. The results demonstrate its ability to adjust body posture and navigate omnidirectionally along a path on a real turbine blade, accommodating radius of curvature variations ranging from 2.8 to 16.3 meters.