The four-legged robots we know today, such as those from Boston Dynamics, can be very useful for maintenance, surveillance, or even carrying weapons. These, however, have an important limitation; they can only be operational on the ground. In some cases, devices are needed that can adapt to a somewhat more complex environment, such as vertical surfaces, and researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the University of Illinois seem have found the solution: magnetic robots capable of climbing walls.
These robots, called MARVEL (Magnetically Adhesive Robot for Versatile and Expeditious Locomotion), have magnetic feet that allow them to climb walls and ceilings made of ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and can also do so in a instant. Robots, specifically they can climb walls at 0.7 meters per second, while they are capable of traversing ceilings at speeds of up to 0.5 m/s. They are also capable of performing different maneuvers with total precision. Among them, “crossing gaps, overcoming obstacles, and making plane transitions in corners,” details Seungwoo Hong, a researcher at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. SINC Agency.
Lor robots MARVEL, on the other hand, are designed to replace humans in high-risk industrial tasks, such as the maintenance of bridges, tanks, or any other installation whose surface contains ferromagnetics and is difficult to access. In fact, robots can perfectly walk on curved surfaces.
This is how MARVEL works, the robot capable of climbing walls
The robots developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the University of Illinois are also capable of supporting up to 3 kg of weight. For this, both institutions have designed magnetic adhesion feet using an electropermanent magnet (EPM), whose benefit is its low energy consumption, since it does not require electricity to have magnetic properties (as it does with electromagnets). They also feature a Magnetorheological Elastomer (MRE), designed to adhere to metal surfaces.
The researchers, yes, will continue working on the development of these robots to perfect them in more complex situations, such as climbing curved surfaces. For it to be so, and as anticipated seungwoo hong to the aforementioned agency, the legs will use miniaturized versions of EPM magnets. As well as pads made of magnetorheological elastomer to “increase the effective contact area and provide solid adhesion.”