Development of Pole-like Tree Climbing Robot

A climbing robot is designed to climb a tree with diameter of 10 cm. The robot utilizes modular mechanism as locomotion of the robot that consists of 6 steps which enable the climbing module to carry its weight by using two servo motors. The robot utilizes encompassing grip in gripping module which wrapped the tree to increase the surface area of frictional force. In the initial condition, the climbing module extends and both upper and lower gripper in grip. The climbing motion starts when the lower gripper releases, the climbing module contract upward and the lower gripper return to grip again. Then, the upper gripper releases, the climbing module extends again and the upper gripper returns to grip. This sequence will continue until the robot reaches the desired location. The Arduino Uno microcontroller is used to send the PWM signal to the servo motors to control the robot movement. To ensure the efficiency and performance of the robot, various simulations and test have been done. The weight in simulation data is 0.9 kg whereas the actual weight is 0.88 kg. After the tests have been done, the simulation average climbing speed is 0.1568 m/s while the actual average climbing speed is 0.00183 m/s.