Design and Analysis of A Miniature Two-Wheg Climbing Robot with Robust Internal and External Transitioning Capabilities

Plane-to-plane transitioning has been a significant challenge for climbing robots. To accomplish this, additional actuator or robot module is usually required which significantly increases both size and weight of the robot. This paper presents a two-wheg miniature climbing robot with a novel passive vertical tail component which results in robust transitioning capabilities. The design decision was derived from an indepth force analysis of the climbing robot while performing the transition. The theoretical analysis is verified through a working prototype with robust transitioning capabilities whose performance follows closely the analytical prediction. The climbing robot is able to climb any slope angles, 4-way internal transitions, and 4-way external transitions. This work contributes to the understanding and advancement of the transitioning capabilities and the design of a simple climbing robot, which expands the possibilities of scaling down miniature climbing robot further.