Magnecko

We designed Magnecko to push the boundaries of limbed climbing robots. The robot can climb in any orientation on ferrous surfaces with its magnetic feet. We selected an insect-style leg configuration and developed custom actuators to target climbing applications. In the future, such a robot will be helpful in inspection and maintenance applications in hard-to-reach environments such as industrial tanks, ship hulls, and bridges. We continuously improve various subsystems on the robot:

• Hardware: We upgrade our custom actuators to meet the harsh requirements for climbing while being easy to use and maintain. Furthermore, we work on the magnetic feet to make them stronger and more adaptive to various surfaces. Lastly, we develop custom add-ons like inspection payloads, manipulators, and climbing feet.
• Control System: We continuously improve the climbing ability of the robot by developing and deploying both model-based and learning-based control systems
• Perception and Navigation: We work on 3D perception and navigation algorithms to enable the robot to climb autonomously in challenging real-world environments.

More information: magnecko.ethz.ch