Design and Mechanical Behavior Research of Highway Guardrail Patrol Robot

Conducting risk assessments on highways is a critical task. This paper introduces a mobile platform designed for guardrail inspection robots to address the gap between the inspection requirements in road traffic management and the current capabilities of existing highway inspection robots. The platf...

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Main Authors: Hong Chang, Guoqing Zhao, Shufeng Tang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/5/2597
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author Hong Chang
Guoqing Zhao
Shufeng Tang
author_facet Hong Chang
Guoqing Zhao
Shufeng Tang
author_sort Hong Chang
collection DOAJ
description Conducting risk assessments on highways is a critical task. This paper introduces a mobile platform designed for guardrail inspection robots to address the gap between the inspection requirements in road traffic management and the current capabilities of existing highway inspection robots. The platform is utilized for random vehicle inspections, road environment assessments, and transportation equipment evaluations. The robot is designed to operate on double-waveform beam guardrails and features an innovative adaptive dual-wheel tensioning mechanism, significantly enhancing its ability to adapt to the guardrail’s shape and joints. A mechanical model of the robot was developed, and the impact of the tension on the robot’s obstacle-crossing performance was analyzed and optimized through theoretical and simulation-based studies. Finally, a prototype of the robot was constructed, and a testing platform for the highway guardrails was established to evaluate the robot’s operational capabilities. The results demonstrate that the robot exhibits excellent performance in both operation and obstacle-crossing tasks.
format Article
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institution DOAJ
issn 2076-3417
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Applied Sciences
spelling doaj-art-c48c641b9eab400082f7850da17b70642025-08-20T02:53:22ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-02-01155259710.3390/app15052597Design and Mechanical Behavior Research of Highway Guardrail Patrol RobotHong Chang0Guoqing Zhao1Shufeng Tang2School of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010051, ChinaInner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Equipment Technology, Hohhot 010051, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010051, ChinaConducting risk assessments on highways is a critical task. This paper introduces a mobile platform designed for guardrail inspection robots to address the gap between the inspection requirements in road traffic management and the current capabilities of existing highway inspection robots. The platform is utilized for random vehicle inspections, road environment assessments, and transportation equipment evaluations. The robot is designed to operate on double-waveform beam guardrails and features an innovative adaptive dual-wheel tensioning mechanism, significantly enhancing its ability to adapt to the guardrail’s shape and joints. A mechanical model of the robot was developed, and the impact of the tension on the robot’s obstacle-crossing performance was analyzed and optimized through theoretical and simulation-based studies. Finally, a prototype of the robot was constructed, and a testing platform for the highway guardrails was established to evaluate the robot’s operational capabilities. The results demonstrate that the robot exhibits excellent performance in both operation and obstacle-crossing tasks.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/5/2597highway waveform beam guardrailpatrol robotsadaptive double-sided wheel tensioning structureobstacle-crossing structure
spellingShingle Hong Chang
Guoqing Zhao
Shufeng Tang
Design and Mechanical Behavior Research of Highway Guardrail Patrol Robot
Applied Sciences
highway waveform beam guardrail
patrol robots
adaptive double-sided wheel tensioning structure
obstacle-crossing structure
title Design and Mechanical Behavior Research of Highway Guardrail Patrol Robot
title_full Design and Mechanical Behavior Research of Highway Guardrail Patrol Robot
title_fullStr Design and Mechanical Behavior Research of Highway Guardrail Patrol Robot
title_full_unstemmed Design and Mechanical Behavior Research of Highway Guardrail Patrol Robot
title_short Design and Mechanical Behavior Research of Highway Guardrail Patrol Robot
title_sort design and mechanical behavior research of highway guardrail patrol robot
topic highway waveform beam guardrail
patrol robots
adaptive double-sided wheel tensioning structure
obstacle-crossing structure
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/5/2597
work_keys_str_mv AT hongchang designandmechanicalbehaviorresearchofhighwayguardrailpatrolrobot
AT guoqingzhao designandmechanicalbehaviorresearchofhighwayguardrailpatrolrobot
AT shufengtang designandmechanicalbehaviorresearchofhighwayguardrailpatrolrobot