Bevel Pipe Inspection by Snake Robot

Investigation on snake robots for pipe inspection purposes has been the subject of various papers. In this paper, we explore a unique type of snake robot that utilizes spherical modules. Ensuring proper contact between the robot and the pipe walls is crucial for successful climbing. If the normal force is too low, the friction force will not be enough for the robot to ascend, while excessive normal force can increase energy consumption. Therefore, it’s necessary to investigate the robot’s ability to move on sloped surfaces to ensure its practicality. In this paper, we present a new method for adjusting the robot’s behavior on different surface slopes, which has been instrumental in optimizing its locomotion on sloped surfaces. Additionally, we have tested a novel torque control method to avoid boundary condition violations with promising results. The results of simulations conducted in MATLAB and Simulink have been validated by comparing them to existing experimental data. The simulations indicate that an excessive value of parameters in the proposed method can increase the generated torque by up to 295%.