CLAWAR highlights research progress on climbing and walking robots

Purpose – Aims to review the CLAWAR 2004 conference on climbing and walking robots. Design/methodology/approach – Selects key papers from the conference and presents a brief outline of the research undertaken and the conclusions reached. Findings – The CLAWAR conference covered every aspect of climbing and walking robots including design, locomotion, navigation, actuation and control, sensors, tele‐operation and tele‐presence. Researchers spoke of robots for applications ranging from de‐mining, tank inspection and building cleaning to walking aids for the disabled. Research limitations/implications – Focuses only on part of the CLAWAR 2004 conference, which featured some 120 presentations. Practical implications – Climbing robots are starting to achieve practical applications such as cleaning building facades and windows. Originality/value – Outlines trends in the development of climbing and walking robots.