A hybrid pole climbing and manipulating robot with minimum DOFs for construction and service applications

Purpose – Aims to describe design, prototyping and characteristics of a pole climbing/manipulating robot with ability of passing bends and branches of the pole. Design/methodology/approach – Introducing a hybrid (parallel/serial) four degree of freedom (DOF) mechanism as the main part of the robot and also introduces a unique gripper design for pole climbing robots. Findings – Finds that a robot, with the ability of climbing and manipulating on poles with bends and branches, needs at least 4 DOFs. Also an electrical cylinder is a good option for climbing robots and has some advantages over pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders. Research limitations/implications – The robot is semi‐industrial size. Design and manufacturing of an industrial size robot are a good suggestion for future works. Practical implications – With some changes on the gripper module and the last tool module, the robot is able to do some service works like pipe testing, pipe/pole cleaning, light bulb changing in highways etc. Originality/value – Design and manufacturing of a pole‐climbing and manipulating robot with minimum DOFs for construction and service works.