• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.62-69
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• 2017

This paper presents a methodology for evaluating the performance of wall-climbing robots. In the literature on wall-climbing robots, there is little information on indices and evaluation methods for consistent and exact performance. Because various types of wall-climbing robots can be developed with regard to adherence and locomotion, a general method of measuring their performance regardless of type is needed. Therefore, we propose two major performance indices-the vertical adhering weight and vertical climbing speed-and their stepwise evaluation procedures. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, we applied it to a hull-climbing robot that we previously developed. The target robot was evaluated to have a vertical adhering weight of 18.5 kg through a slip measurement procedure and a vertical climbing speed of 41 cm/s with a position control system.

• Special Issue of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.112-121
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• 2006

The vertical displacement of a ship on the basis of the sea level is an important parameter for its stability and control. To indicate the displacement on operating conditions, "draft marks" are carved on the hull of the ship in various ways. One of the methods is welding. The position, shape and size of the marks are specified on the shipbuilding rules by classification societies to be checked by shipbuilders. In most cases, high-skilled workers do the welding along the drawing for the marks and welding bead becomes the marks. But the inaccuracies due to human errors and high labor cost increase the needs for automating the work process of the draft marks. In the preceding work, an indoor robot was developed for automatic marking system on flat surfaces and the work proved that the robot welding was more effective and accurate than manual welding. However, many parts of the hull structure constructed at the outdoor are cowed shapes, which is beyond the capability of the robot developed for the indoor works on the flat surface. The marking on the curved steel surface requiring the 25m elevations is one of the main challenges to the conventional robots. In the present paper, the robot capable of climbing vertical curved steel surfaces and performing the welding at the marked position by effectively solving the problems mentioned earlier is presented.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.383-389
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• 2016

In this paper, we present the hull blasting machine with vision-based weld bead recognition device for cleaning shipment exterior wall. The purpose of this study is to introduce the mechanism design of the high efficiency hull blasting machine using the vision system to recognize the weld bead. Therefore, we have developed a robot mechanism and drive controller system of the hull blasting robot. And hull blasting characteristics such as the climbing mechanism, vision system, remote controller and CAN have been discussed and compared with the experimental data. The hull blasting robots are able to remove rust or paint at anchor, so the re-docking is unnecessary. Therefore, this can save time and cost of undergoing re-docking process and build more vessels instead. The robot uses sensors to navigate safely around the hull and has a filter system to collect the fouling removed. We have completed a pilot test of the robot and demonstrated the drive control and CAN communication performance.