Possibility of application of small-size robots with vibratory piezoelectric actuators for inspection of physical state of surfaces

The article describes design and principle of control of small-size inspection robot with vibratory piezoelectric actuator and possibility of its application for non-destructive evaluation (NDE). Controlled movement of robot is implemented using single bimorph piezoelement by means of frequency control of electric voltage applied to piezoelement. Such scheme of control is realized as a result of application of structural asymmetry principle consisting in relative shift of resonant characteristics of robot supporting elements (legs) by means of imparting geometric asymmetry to them. During movement of robot upon inspected surface each of its legs excites in substrate elastic waves which can be registered by another robot as a consequence of piezoelectric effect reversibility. As a result group of communicating robots (robotic swarm) will be able to distribute over the surface of inspected object and perform its multiagent control. This will give possibility to accelerate and simplify inspection of large and geometrically-complex objects. Autonomy and compactness of the described robots will also make reasonable their application for NDE of hard-to-access surfaces and potentially hazardous objects.