Birmingham-based HausBots, which is a University of Warwick spinoff company, has designed, built, and created an innovative wall-climbing robot that can climb vertical surfaces. The robot could help reduce the number of workplace accidents, as it can be used for inspection and maintenance tasks such as building and infrastructure inspection and surveying, or even painting.
The wall-climbing robot HB1 can move across any flat or curved, rough or smooth surfaces, overcome obstacles such as wires and surface bolts, and has a payload capacity of 6KG. The robot has four rubber-tire-clad wheels and is connected to a ground-based remote control unit via a 110-volt electrical tether.
The HB1 has a 30m range from the ground but is potentially unlimited if the tether can be supplied from the roof. The robot can be equipped with different attachments such as a brush, robot arm, airless spray, concrete surveying equipment.
To ensure that the robot itself doesn’t fall, it had to undergo extensive electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing to make sure that fans, which essentially attach it to the surface, are functioning correctly.
The WMG SME team tested the robot by placing it in the EMC chamber and assessing how it responds to noise. It made sure it didn’t emit any unwanted noise into the atmosphere itself. Using amplifiers to simulate noise and analyzers, the researchers were able to detect any unwanted interference and emissions with the robot and record results.
“It has been a pleasure to be with HausBots and help them develop their product; the concept of the robot is incredible and could save lives and reduce the number of workplace accidents,” said Dr. David Norman from the WMG SME group at the University of Warwick.
