Bio-inspired Smart Attachment and Adaptive Neuromechanical Control for Highly Efficient Locomotion and Adaptation to an Autonomous Climbing Robot

攀爬机器人能够在光滑或粗糙的地面、墙壁或天花板上移动，在公共和国家安全领域、狭小空间探测、城市景观服务等方面具有广泛的应用前景。腿式攀爬机器人具有较强的环境适应性，能够穿越复杂的地形表面，具有良好的运动灵活性。目前，它们的控制和运动生成主要依赖于工程方法，其中在线学习和自适应尚未完全集成。这限制了机器人应对不断变化的环境的整体性能。 相反，壁虎、昆虫和蜘蛛可以有效地在不同的基底坡度和粗糙度上行走和攀爬。它们可以在自然环境中的不稳定的垂直（如墙壁）或倒置（如天花板）表面上稳定地附着和爬行，主要依赖于机械爪互锁和脚垫粘附以及两者的协同效应。此外，它们甚至可以快速调整自己的运动以适应环境的变化或未知的情况。多功能和适应能力是嵌入其感觉运动回路中的几种成分整合的结果。生物学研究表明，关键成分包括生物力学（例如，粘性垫和爪）、感觉反馈和自适应神经控制。考虑到这些成分的机器人发展，以及深入研究和了解附着机制的攀爬动物在稳定和非稳定状态将导致一个自适应的，多功能的，高效的仿生攀爬机器人。 据此，本项目的目的是：1）研究和分析基于爪机械联锁和垫粘附协同作用的攀爬动物粘附机制，以及用于智能附着控制的攀爬动物多次剥离策略，2）进行生物学实验，利用前期开发的动物全方位运动模型，研究了四肢伸开姿势动物的运动行为及其反作用力，空间运动行为和反作用力测试系统，建立四足动物动力学模型; 3）开发具有感觉反馈和在线自适应的自适应神经机械控制器，实现稳定高效的攀爬策略; 4）开发具有粘性垫和主动爪的仿生足。所开发的仿生足和自适应神经机械控制将在我们的自主攀爬机器人上实现高效的运动和适应变化的倾斜角度和墙壁与光滑和不同粗糙度的基板。

Climbing robots are able to move on smooth or rough ground, walls or ceilings, and have wide application prospects in public and national security areas, narrow space detection, and cityscape services. Legged climbing robots, having a strong adaptability to the environment, can cross the complex terrain surface and have good movement flexibility. At present, their control and movement generation mainly rely on engineering approaches where online learning and adaptation have not been fully integrated. This limits the overall performance of the robot to deal with a changing environment. In contrast, geckos, insects, and spiders can efficiently walk and climb on different substrate slope and roughness. They can be stably attached and crawl on unsteady vertical (such as walls) or inverted (such as ceilings) surfaces in the natural environment, relying primarily on mechanical claw interlocking and foot pad adhesion as well as on the synergistic effect of both. Furthermore, they can even quickly adapt their locomotion to a change of their environment or an unknown situation. The versatile and adaptive abilities are the result of an integration of several ingredients embedded in their sensorimotor loop. Biological studies reveal that the key ingredients include biomechanics (e.g., adhesive pads and claws), sensory feedback, and adaptive neural control. Taking these ingredients into account for robot development together with in-depth studying and understanding attachment mechanisms of climbing animals in steady and unsteady states will lead to an adaptive, versatile, and efficient bio-inspired climbing robot. According to this, the purpose of the project is to 1) study and analyze the adhesive mechanisms of climbing animals based on the synergic action of claw mechanical interlocking and pad adhesion, and the multiple-peeling strategy of climbing animals for smart attachment control, 2) perform biological experiments, investigate locomotion behavior and its reaction forces of sprawled posture animals by using the former developed animal full-space motion behavior and reaction force testing system, and establish dynamic model of quadruped, 3) develop adaptive neuromechanical control with sensory feedback and online adaptation for stable and efficient climbing strategies, and 4) develop a bionic foot with adhesive pads and active claws. The developed bionic foot and adaptive neuromechanical control will be implemented on our autonomous climbing robot to achieve highly efficient locomotion and adaptation on changing incline angles and walls with smooth and different roughness substrates.