The objective of this project was to design, construct and test a wall climbing vehicle which uses a novel vacuum tread system for both adhesion and locomotion. The design and manufacturing of this proof of concept vehicle is detailed with particular emphasis on the design decisions that proved most impactful to the performance of both the vehicle and the tread system. Adhesion performance was characterized by a series of tests that validate the concept, but also identify improvements and design recommendations for future embodiments of the adhesion/locomotion system.
","abstract_html":"<p>The objective of this project was to design, construct and test a wall climbing vehicle which uses a novel vacuum tread system for both adhesion <em>and</em> locomotion. The design and manufacturing of this proof of concept vehicle is detailed with particular emphasis on the design decisions that proved most impactful to the performance of both the vehicle and the tread system. Adhesion performance was characterized by a series of tests that validate the concept, but also identify improvements and design recommendations for future embodiments of the adhesion/locomotion system.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stefani, Jim R"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS in Mechanical Engineering","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Thomas Mackin"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:31:35Z","subjects":["Wall-Climbing","vacuum","sliding tread adhesion","robot","vehicle","timing belt","Electro-Mechanical Systems"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["10.15368/theses.2016.74"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.15368/theses.2016.74","href":"https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2016.74","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1604","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Thomas Mackin"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Stefani, Jim R"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-06-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS in Mechanical Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Wall-Climbing","vacuum","sliding tread adhesion","robot","vehicle","timing belt","Electro-Mechanical Systems"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1604","10.15368/theses.2016.74"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The objective of this project was to design, construct and test a wall climbing vehicle which uses a novel vacuum tread system for both adhesion and locomotion. The design and manufacturing of this proof of concept vehicle is detailed with particular emphasis on the design decisions that proved most impactful to the performance of both the vehicle and the tread system. Adhesion performance was characterized by a series of tests that validate the concept, but also identify improvements and design recommendations for future embodiments of the adhesion/locomotion system.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Design and Testing of a Novel Adhesion and Locomotion Method for Wall Climbing Vehicles"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Thomas Mackin"],"dc:creator":["Stefani, Jim R"],"dc:date.available":["2017-06-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The objective of this project was to design, construct and test a wall climbing vehicle which uses a novel vacuum tread system for both adhesion and locomotion. The design and manufacturing of this proof of concept vehicle is detailed with particular emphasis on the design decisions that proved most impactful to the performance of both the vehicle and the tread system. Adhesion performance was characterized by a series of tests that validate the concept, but also identify improvements and design recommendations for future embodiments of the adhesion/locomotion system.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/1604","10.15368/theses.2016.74"],"dc:subject":["Wall-Climbing","vacuum","sliding tread adhesion","robot","vehicle","timing belt","Electro-Mechanical Systems"],"dc:title":["Design and Testing of a Novel Adhesion and Locomotion Method for Wall Climbing Vehicles"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS in Mechanical Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:31:35Z"}