A Magnetic Climbing Robot for Steel Bridge Inspection

Abstract. The maintenance of traditional steel bridges presents many significant challenges due to the fact that bridges of different ages and standards vary in design, structural complexity and technical difficulty. In light of these considerations, it is clear that maintenance personnel must possess a wealth of professional expertise and experience in order to effectively address the diverse and intricate maintenance challenges that arise. Moreover, the maintenance process entails high-risk operations such as high-altitude work and welding, which pose a threat to the safety of construction personnel. Therefore, this study introduces a magnetic adsorption robot designed to address the low efficiency and high costs of traditional maintenance methods. This robot features a dual robotic arm mechanism and modeled using the Denavit Hartenberg (D-H) parameter method. Electromagnetic adsorption is utilized to achieve wall adhesion, and direct power supply is provided through DC power to control weight. The robot can perform flexible remote control operations through the HC-05 Bluetooth module. The experimental results show that the robot exhibits robust adhesion and obstacle crossing ability on steel surfaces, thereby enabling unimpeded movement within the steel structure. In addition, the robot is now capable of performing overhaul procedures via remote control.