Ship Hull Wall-Climbing Robot Utilizing Pneumatic Pressure and Permanent Magnets.

In this paper, we present the development of a cost-effective and robust wall-climbing robot designed for ship hull maintenance and inspection. Such a robot is needed due to the frequent high-altitude work required in shipbuilding and ship operations, which is currently done by workers and poses significant safety risks. The proposed robot utilizes pneumatic pressure and permanent magnets to climb steel wall surfaces at a low cost. The robot is driven by pneumatic cylinders, providing an excellent power-to-weight ratio and low cost. The adhesion unit on the robot uses permanent magnets, which ensure safety during power loss. In addition, the unit uses an internally balanced magnetic mechanism to facilitate easy detachment and attachment. To enhance maneuverability, the robot can perform climbing, turning, and obstacle-overcoming maneuvers, which were verified through experiments conducted on both small-scale laboratory steel walls and walls in ship hull blocks. In experimental results, the robot was able to climb vertical surfaces at a speed of 1.8 m/min and rotate at 150 degrees/min. Furthermore, it can climb with loads up to 2.5 times its weight. However, the robot encountered challenges with ceiling walking due to structural flexibility issues.