CIRCA:
Climbing Inspection Robot with Compressed Air
Robot Name: Climbing Inspection Robot with Compressed Air
CIRCA (Climbing Inspection Robot with Compressed Air) is a unique climbing robot that utilizes McKibben air muscles to climb scaffolding structures for inspection tasks. By connecting multiple CIRCA together in different shapes, you achieve different methods of locomotion. For example, actuating a doughnut robot would be useful for climbing a pole, and a helical robot would be useful for transferring poles.
The prototype design won First Place in the CAGI (Compressed and and Gas Institute) Innovation Awards design competition in 2008 with a cash prize of $10,500.