International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering

Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2013)
658

Development of Wall Climbing Robot for Cleaning Application
Ritesh. G. Mahajan
1
, Prof. S. M. Patil
2
1
M-Tech scholar, College Of Engineering, Pune, India
2
Department of Production Engineering,

Assistant Professor in College Of Engineering, Pune, India
Abstract-- The purpose of the present study is to develop
the wall climbing robot for cleaning a single large
windowpane such as a show window. It requires the following
demands to apply the window cleaning robot for the practical
use: 1) adhere or stick the robot to glass surface with the help
of suction cup vacuum .2) Clean the glass surface of window
with help of wiper attached to the front panel of robot.3) After
cleaning off wiper & then climb (walk) the robot as per
instruction to microcontroller.
For adhesion of robot to surface we have seen different
type of adhesion technique like adhesion by magnetic force,
adhesion by micro spine etc. But, here we develop
Elecrochuks (Creation of vacuum in suction cup by using
injection syringe operated by D.C.Motor) to obtain adhesion
of robot. Elecrochuks are similar to suction cup in which
required vacuum is created by pulling a piston rod from the
cylinder like structure mounted on suction cup. The
dimensions of prototype are approximately 690 mm times 400
mm times 160 mm and its weight is approximately not more
than 3 kg.
Keywords:- Suction cups, Microcontroller, D.C.Motor,
Climbing Robot, vacuum adhesion.
I. INTRODUCTION
In our introduction to Wall Climbing Robot we have
some background history of all kinds of Wall Climbing
Robots, & secondly the purpose of our project.
Background
Climbing robots are useful devices that can be adopted
in a variety of applications like maintenance, building,
inspection and safety in the process and construction
industries. These systems are mainly adopted in places
where direct access by a human operator is very expensive,
because of the need for scaffolding, or very dangerous, due
to the presence of an hostile environment. .Recently, there
have been many demands for automatic cleaning system on
outside surface of buildings such as window glass by
increasing of modern architectures. Some customized
window cleaning machines have already been installed into
the practical use in the field of building maintenance.
However, almost of them are mounted on the building from
the beginning and they needs very expensive costs.
Therefore, requirements for small, lightweight and portable
window cleaning robot are also growing in the field of
building maintenance.
As the results of surveying the requirements for the
window cleaning robot, the following points are necessary
for providing the window cleaning robot for practical use:
It should be small size and lightweight for
portability.
Automatic operation during moving.
A wall climbing robot should be light and allow a large
payload, reducing excessive adhesion forces and carrying
instrumentations during navigation. Up to now,
considerable research was devoted to these machines and
various types of experimental models were proposed. The
two major issues in the design of wall climbing robots are
their locomotion and the adhesion methods. With respect to
the locomotion type, three types are often considered: the
crawler, the wheeled and the legged types. According to the
adhesion method, these robots are generally classified into
three groups: vacuum or suction cups, magnetic, and
gripping to the surface. Recently, new methods for assuring
the adhesion, based in biological findings, have also been
proposed.[1]
Aim of project
The study and production of robots for domestic
application is a relatively recent research field. This kind of
robot is actually in continuous development. Huge surface
cleaning, and even glass windows or building walls is on
study in industrial fields with very different characteristics
and innovations. Our target is to build a wall-climbing
robot for window cleaning application. The Wall Climbing
Robot (WCR) having capability that it can stick on a
vertical as well as inclined surface and can easily move
over the surface.The targeted capability to stick with
surface can be achieved by suction cups. Suction cups
create a vacuum pressure used to stick with vertical or
inclined surface. For movement (climbing) of robot it is
necessary that some of suction cup should release & that
arrangement is obtained by developing the structure such
that in which one frame is used to hold the robot to wall &
other for climbing.( vertical movement of robot) .The
motion of the other frame is carried out by providing rack
& pinion type mechanism .
The whole action is controlled by an 8bit microcontroller
89V51RC.

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2013)
659

Cleaning action of the glass surfaces can be achieved by
attaching a wind screen wiper type of structure to front
panel of robot.
II. MECHANICAL STRUCTURE OF CLEANING ROBOT
Clean robot is autonomous wall climbing robot, which
uses lighter body materials and different walking/climbing
mechanisms than those used in robots reported earlier
Consequently, with substantially improved smart robotic
feet (SRF), this new robot is faster, lighter and smaller that
that reported earlier The new SRF is equipped with a 50
mm diameter suction cup, electric motor, a pressure sensor
and a micro-valve. The entire system operates by control of
a single programmable microcontroller, and can be
powered by a 6-volt thin cell lithium battery pack mounted
onboard, making the robot totally autonomous.
The Wall Climbing Robot (WCR) having capability that
it can stick on a vertical as well as inclined surface and can
easily move over the surface. The targeted capability to
stick with surface can be achieved by suction cups . Suction
cups create a vacuum pressure used to stick with vertical or
inclined surface. Electrostatic Chucks create a controlled
adhesion by means of some intermolecular or charged
force. The movement on the surface can be achieved by
stepper motor wheel or a balanced movement of suction
cup legs. The whole action is controlled by an 8bit
microcontroller 8051 Microcontroller.

Fig. 2.1 Mechanical Structure Of Climbing Robot
III. COMPONENTS USED IN CLEANING ROBOT
The major components required for building targeted
robot are as follows:-
1. Microcontroller 89V51
2. Suction Cups
3. DC motors.
4. Robot legs and accessories.
5. Chassis for robot.
6. DC Motor Driver IC L29D3
7. Power and Voltage regulating ICs.
8. Power and connecting cables.
9.Injection Syringe
Auto CAD drawing for robot structure

Fig.3.1(a)Top view Details

Fig.3.1(b) Front View Details

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2013)
660


Fig.3.1(c) Side View Details
IV. SPECIFICATION & DETAILS OF THE COMPONENT
USED IN ROBOT STRUCTURE
Suction Cups
There are 8 suction cups are require. Out of which 4 on
inner frame & 4 on outer frame. Suction cups used for the
developed robot are of ESS50-FESTO type (with an outer
diameter of 50 mm).
Specifications
Property Value
Design structure
Vacuum connection at
top
Design structure round, standard
Ambient temp -20 - 60 C
Operating medium Atmospheric air
Symbol 00991485
Breakaway force at 70%
vacuum
106 N
Shore hardness 62
Property Value
suction cup diameter 50 mm
Mounting thread G1/4
Vacuum connection G1/4
suction cup mounting G 1/4
Product Type
Festo Suction cup VAS
VASB
Effective suction diameter 44 mm
Materials information for
screw-in stud
Zinc die-casting
Materials information for
suction cup
TPE-U(PU)
Types of Power Supply
There are many types of power supply. Most are
designed to convert high voltage AC mains electricity to a
suitable DC voltage supply for electronics circuits and
other devices. A power supply can by broken down into a
series of blocks, each of which performs a particular
function.
A 5V regulated supply


Fig 4.2 Regulates Power Supply

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2013)
661

Electrolytic Capacitors
Circuit
symbol:
Fig4.3 Electrolytic Capacitors
Voltage regulator
Voltage regulator ICs are available with fixed (typically
5, 12 and 15V) or variable output voltages. They are also
rated by the maximum current they can pass. Negative
voltage regulators are available, mainly for use in dual
supplies. Most regulators include some automatic
protection from excessive current ('overload protection')
and overheating ('thermal protection').
Many of the fixed voltage regulator ICs have 3 leads and
look like power transistors, such as the 7805 +5V 1A
regulator shown on the right. They include a hole for
attaching a heatsink if necessary.

Fig.4.4 Voltage Regulator
Microcontroller 89V51RD2:
P89V51RD2 Features
64 KB flash memory
1 KB RAM
32 I/O lines
Programmable counter array
In System Application
Three 16-bit Timer/Counter

Fig.4.5 Microcontroller
D.C. Motor: (12 volt , 30 rpm).
A DC motor is a mechanically commutated electric
motor powered from direct current (DC). The stator is
stationary in space by definition and therefore so is its
current. The current in the rotor is switched by the
commutator to also be stationary in space. This is how the
relative angle between the stator and rotor magnetic flux is
maintained near 90 degrees, which generates the maximum
torque.
DC motors have a rotating armature winding but non-
rotating armature magnetic field and a static field winding
or permanent magnet. Different connections of the field
and armature winding provide different inherent
speed/torque regulation characteristics. The speed of a DC
motor can be controlled by changing the voltage applied to
the armature or by changing the field current. The
introduction of variable resistance in the armature circuit or
field circuit allowed speed control. Modern DC motors are
often controlled by power electronics systems called DC
drives.
The introduction of DC motors to run machinery
eliminated the need for local steam or internal combustion
engines, and line shaft drive systems. DC motors can
operate directly from rechargeable batteries, providing the
motive power for the first electric vehicles. Today DC
motors are still found in applications as small as toys and
disk drives, or in large sizes to operate steel rolling mills
and paper machines.





International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 5, May 2013)
662

V. SAFETY ANALYSIS OF ROBOT
d=1.12*(m*S/Pu*n*)

m = 2 kg
d = 5.5cm
n = 4
= 0.5 for glass.
S = 4 for vertical and 2 for horizontal.
By substituting these values in above equation.
We get Pu = 0.16587 bar
Pu = 0.16587 x 1.019716 = 0.169048069 kg /cm
2
This is pressure created by suctioncup, we take approx.
0.1690 kg/cm
2
Now we have 4 suction cup of dia. 5.5cm
Hence mass carried by single suction cup
= A x Pu
= 23.7583 x 0.1690
= 4.0152 kg
Now mass hold by 4 suction cup will be = 4 x 4.0152 =
16.0606 kg
Our robot weight is 2 kg.
Still we are taking 4 for balancing and symmetry of
robot in vertical glass.
VI. CONCLUSION
This chapter presents an application of a climbing robot
for the glass cleaning service. The robot is constructed by
using two frames, Suction cups & Motor, Injection barrel.





















Robot (WCR) having capability that it can stick on a
vertical as well as inclined surface and can easily move
over the surface. The targeted capability to stick with
surface can be achieved by suction cups. Suction cups
create a vacuum pressure used to stick with vertical or
inclined surface. Future work will be toward developing
more efficient motion control system and reducing
size/weight of the climbing robot.
Acknowledgment
The author would like to acknowledge the kind of
assistance given by Dr.B.B.Ahuja, Deputy Director & Head
of Production Engg. Dept & other faculty members from
C.O.E.P.
REFERENCES
[1] N. R. Kolhalkar, S.M.Patil -A Review on climbing robot,
International Journal of Engineering and Innovative Technology
(IJEIT) Volume 1, Issue 5, May 2012
[2] Guido Belforte, Roberto Grassy- Innovative solution for climbing
and cleaning on smooth surfaces.
[3] Tohru Miyake, Shunichi Yoshida -Development of small-size
window cleaning robot by wall climbing mechanism,Third Intl
conf. On Climbing and Walking Robots, pp. 789-794, 2000.
[4] Zhang H., Zhang J., Liu R., Wang W. and Zong G,.2004,Pneumatic
Climbing Robots for Glass Wall Cleaning, Proc. of the 6th
International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots, pp.
1061-1069
[5] Zhu, J., Sun, D. and Tso, S. K, 2001, Development of a Tracked
Climbing Robot Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems,
Vol.35, 427-444.