AMBER: A tether-deployable gripping crawler with compliant microspines for canopy manipulation

TL;DR

This paper introduces AMBER, a tether-deployable crawler with compliant microspines and a dual-track gripper designed for stable, adaptive movement and canopy manipulation, demonstrating reliable gripping, climbing, and maneuverability in tree environments.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel aerially deployable crawler with compliant microspine tracks and a dual-track gripper, enabling effective canopy traversal and manipulation, with demonstrated low power consumption and high adaptability.

Findings

Reliable gripping up to 90° body roll and inclination

Climbing on branches inclined up to 67.5°

Maximum speed of 0.55 body lengths/sec on horizontal branches

Abstract

This paper presents an aerially deployable crawler designed for adaptive locomotion and manipulation within tree canopies. The system combines compliant microspine-based tracks, a dual-track rotary gripper, and an elastic tail, enabling secure attachment and stable traversal across branches of varying curvature and inclination. Experiments demonstrate reliable gripping up to 90$^\circ$ body roll and inclination, while effective climbing on branches inclined up to 67.5$^\circ$, achieving a maximum speed of 0.55 body lengths per second on horizontal branches. The compliant tracks allow yaw steering of up to 10$^\circ$, enhancing maneuverability on irregular surfaces. Power measurements show efficient operation with a dimensionless cost of transport over an order of magnitude lower than typical hovering power consumption in aerial robots. The crawler provides a robust, low-power platform for environmental sampling and in-canopy sensing. The aerial deployment is demonstrated at a conceptual and feasibility level, while full drone-crawler integration is left as future work.