Design and experiment of CLIBOT, a novel UHV insulator climbing robot with discrete optimization

Purpose By analyzing the shortcomings of existing insulator robots, a novel ultra high voltage (UHV) insulator climbing robot, which could transfer between adjacent insulator strings, is proposed for operation on 800KV multiple-string insulators. An extended inchworm-like configuration was chosen and a stable gripping claw suitable for the insulator string was designed to enable the robot to multiple-string insulators. Then a set of nonheuristic structural parameters that can influence energy consumption was chosen to formulate a nonlinear optimization problem based on the configuration, which improved the energy efficiency of the robot during progressing along a string of insulator. Design/methodology/approach The purpose of this paper is to design an insulator climbing robot for operation on UHV multiple-string insulators, which could transfer between adjacent insulator strings and progressed along a string of insulator with high energy efficiency. Findings A physical prototype was constructed that can operate at the speed of six pieces per minute (approximately 1.44 meters per minute) on a single string and complete transference between adjacent strings in 45 s. The energy consumption of joints during progressed along a string of insulator had been reduced by 38.8% with the optimized parameters, demonstrating the consistency between the experimental and simulation results. Originality/value An insulator climbing robot for operation on UHV multiple-string insulators has been developed with energy consumption optimization design. The robot can transfer between adjacent insulator strings and progressed along a string of insulator with high energy efficiency. The CLIBOT could be expanded to detect or clean the insulators with similar specification.