Inspenet, August 2, 2023.
This robot with magnetic capabilities has been designed to carry out inspection and surveillance tasks, being able to climb walls and even move across the ceiling.
Unlike most robots that focus on inspection or rescue tasks, this innovative quadruped machine, created by a team of eight engineering students from the ETH Zurich Research Institute in Switzerland, has the unique ability to move both horizontally and vertically. vertically.
Inspired by the abilities of the gecko, this robot has been specially designed to carry out inspections on machines or high-rise metal structures , tasks that are difficult for people and for other machines that are not prepared for these demanding conditions.
Until now, drones have been used to inspect tall metal structures; however, the limited battery life has been a significant obstacle to these operations.
To overcome this difficulty, the team has developed Magnecko , which uses specially designed electropermanent magnetic modules to scale walls and even move across ceilings.
Each of its legs is equipped with several magnets that can be magnetized and demagnetized in a fraction of a second by a short electrical pulse. What stands out about this design is that it does not need electricity to stay in any position and its legs are powerful enough to support up to 2.5 times its own weight .
Magnecko is moderately autonomous
Magnecko is not completely autonomous, as it requires an operator to tell it where to go via a wireless hand control.
Once provided with the path, it can move independently, making it easy to transition between walking on vertical and horizontal surfaces of a ferromagnetic nature.
In the future, the possibility of endowing it with the ability to avoid obstacles autonomously and to plan its own routes is being considered.
In addition, its creators do not rule out the idea that it is not only used for the inspection of structures at heights, but also for surveillance tasks.
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