Climbing Robot (with Claws!)
Paul Nadan, a PhD student in Carnegie Mellon University’s Robot Mechanics Lab, explains how the LORIS robot uses microspines and lightweight mechanics to climb rough surfaces, including potential lunar and Martian terrain.
In this talk
- 0:06
Why LORIS uses microspines
Nadan says his lab aims to move robots beyond controlled settings, where contact with the environment is a major challenge. LORIS grips rock with many small hooks that catch on surface irregularities, rather than relying on magnets or suction.
- 1:24
Grippers that brace in multiple directions
Each gripper has two sets of spines arranged at right angles, helping it handle forces from different directions. Forces between the robot’s feet add pressure that improves adhesion. The approach combines ideas about inward forces from lizard and gecko research with microspines inspired by cockroach spines.
- 2:12
A tail and passive grippers reduce weight
The tail pushes against the surface to help prevent the robot from tipping backward, reducing the load its grippers must hold. LORIS’s grippers operate without closing motors: its leg motors create forces between the feet, supporting a smaller, lighter design.
- 2:56
Reaching rocky terrain on the Moon and Mars
Microspines are suited to rough rock, where surface bumps and pits provide places to catch. Nadan describes steep cliffs, lava tubes, and caves as possible space exploration targets. A climber could inspect cliff layers for geological clues and potentially carry samples to a larger rover.
- 3:43
Planning routes and footholds
The team is developing autonomous path planning and foothold selection. A depth camera maps the terrain, and sample-based planners use that map to search for safe routes and gripping points with suitable shapes and sizes.
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