Mountain slopes are perfect examples of harsh environments in which humans are required to perform difficult and dangerous operations such as removing unstable boulders, dangerous vegetation or deploying safety nets. A good replacement for human intervention can be offered by climbing robots. The different solutions existing in the literature are not up to the task for the difficulty of the requirements (navigation, heavy payloads, flexibility in the execution of the tasks). In this paper, we propose a robotic platform that can fill this gap. Our solution is based on a robot that hangs on ropes, and uses a retractable leg to jump away from the mountain walls. Our package of mechanical solutions, along with the algorithms developed for motion planning and control, delivers swift navigation on irregular and steep slopes, the possibility to overcome or travel around significant natural barriers, and the ability to carry heavy payloads and execute complex tasks. In the paper, we give a full account of our main design and algorithmic choices and show the feasibility of the solution through a large number of physically simulated scenarios.

翻译：山坡是典型恶劣环境，人类在此需执行清除不稳定岩石、危险植被或部署安全网等困难而危险的作业。攀爬机器人可成为替代人工干预的理想方案。现有文献中的多种解决方案均难以满足导航、重载、任务执行灵活性等严苛要求。本文提出一种能够填补这一空差的机器人平台。我们的方案基于悬吊于绳索的机器人，通过可伸缩腿实现从岩壁的跳跃动作。结合运动规划与控制算法开发的机械解决方案包，可实现陡峭不规则斜坡上的快速导航、越过或绕行重大自然障碍物的能力，以及携带重载并执行复杂任务的功能。本文全面阐述了主要设计与算法选择，并通过大量物理仿真场景验证了方案的可行性。