Meet the SlothBot: a wire traversing robot that can be used to monitor the environment. It is a solar powered, slow-paced robot that can move on a mesh of wires by switching between branches. It is energy efficient and has a mechanical structure consisting of two bodies connected by an actuated hinge. Each body has a DC motor to drive its tire.
The SlothBot can switch between branching wires safely by having at least one of the bodies hung on the wires at all times. As the developers explain:
First, the top gears of the rightmost body open, allowing the first body to move onto the new branch. Once the first body is firmly attached to the new branch, the top gears of the second body open, letting the SlothBot complete the switching maneuver.
[HT]
