Design and development of a quadruped ladder climbing robot using optimized PID parameters using genetic algorithm

This paper presents a design and analysis of a ladder-climbing robot that can climb ladders attached to telecom towers. Telecommunication tower ladders are kept perfectly vertical at 90⁰. The design of a robot is carried out concerning dynamic stability. The design resembles a quadrupedal climbing robot whose biomimetic climbing movement is the monkey climbing pattern. The paper includes kinematic, dynamic, finite element analysis and motion simulation of the proposed robot. It also presents the optimization using an evolutionary genetic algorithm for PID parameters to ensure the stable motion of a robot on the vertical ladder. The dynamic analysis results provide the actuator's torque that supports the selection of the actuators. Using tuned PID controller parameters with optimized values smoothens the robot's motion and reduces jerks. The developed robot shows satisfactory climbing motion on the ladder of the tower.