PerchMobi^3: A Multi-Modal Robot with Power-Reuse Quad-Fan Mechanism for Air-Ground-Wall Locomotion

2025-09-15

AI Summary

Multi-modal robots often suffer from structural complexity, low efficiency, and poor reliability due to auxiliary adhesion mechanisms. To address this, we propose a lightweight tri-modal robot leveraging quad-ducted-fan propulsion multiplexing—unifying airflow for aerial thrust, ground locomotion, and wall adhesion via suction pressure, thereby eliminating conventional dedicated adhesion pumps. Integrating actively driven wheels with cross-modal dynamic modeling, we design a unified control framework enabling seamless mode transitions. This work achieves, for the first time, adhesion-free, actuator-less aerial–terrestrial–wall climbing transitions. Experimental results demonstrate full multi-modal mobility—including load-bearing wall climbing, stable hovering, and dynamic inter-modal transitions—while significantly enhancing system compactness, energy efficiency, and robustness. The proposed architecture establishes a novel paradigm for versatile mobile robots.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion
• Computer Vision: Multi-modal Vision
• Machine Learning: Multimodal Learning

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and multi-modal RAG
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Applied ML and AI for Web-based mobile applications
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

Achieving seamless integration of aerial flight, ground driving, and wall climbing within a single robotic platform remains a major challenge, as existing designs often rely on additional adhesion actuators that increase complexity, reduce efficiency, and compromise reliability. To address these limitations, we present PerchMobi^3, a quad-fan, negative-pressure, air-ground-wall robot that implements a propulsion-adhesion power-reuse mechanism. By repurposing four ducted fans to simultaneously provide aerial thrust and negative-pressure adhesion, and integrating them with four actively driven wheels, PerchMobi^3 eliminates dedicated pumps while maintaining a lightweight and compact design. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first quad-fan prototype to demonstrate functional power reuse for multi-modal locomotion. A modeling and control framework enables coordinated operation across ground, wall, and aerial domains with fan-assisted transitions. The feasibility of the design is validated through a comprehensive set of experiments covering ground driving, payload-assisted wall climbing, aerial flight, and cross-mode transitions, demonstrating robust adaptability across locomotion scenarios. These results highlight the potential of PerchMobi^3 as a novel design paradigm for multi-modal robotic mobility, paving the way for future extensions toward autonomous and application-oriented deployment.

Problem

• Achieving seamless air-ground-wall locomotion integration
• Eliminating dedicated adhesion actuators to reduce complexity
• Implementing power-reuse mechanism for multi-modal mobility

Innovation

• Quad-fan power-reuse mechanism
• Negative-pressure adhesion without pumps
• Coordinated multi-modal control framework