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CASE 05 / Maintenance

Miniature climbing robot with active compliance

A unified active-compliance mechanism adapts to varied surfaces, with visual-inspection tests inside a decommissioned engine.

TRACE2026
Guo et al., 2026, supplementary video at 79.988 s: the miniature crawler moves along a blade surface in a decommissioned JT8D engine, with its camera view at upper right. The source video is marked Time ×5.
Guo et al., 2026, supplementary video at 79.988 s: the miniature crawler moves along a blade surface in a decommissioned JT8D engine, with its camera view at upper right. The source video is marked Time ×5.Qingkai Guo, Yu Sun, Yunbo Wang, Zipan Zhao, Changfeng Nan, Shaojiang Dong, Laihao Yang, Xuefeng Chen

Watch the video

Supplementary video: surface locomotion, loads and decommissioned-engine inspection. Original speed overlays are preserved. · Guo et al. · 720p source video

Original publisher video
01 / STUDY

Mechanism and experiments

TRACE coordinates body posture and suction sealing through anchoring and airbag actuation. Its active-compliance mechanism adapts to different blade surfaces. Experiments covered concave, convex, inverted, rough and oily conditions, followed by visual-inspection tests inside a decommissioned JT8D engine.

02 / CONTEXT

Test conditions and scope

Visual inspection used a retired JT8D engine. Long-duration operation and recovery from complex failures need further validation.

03 / SOURCE

Papers and primary sources

Unified active compliance enables miniature robots to traverse diverse surfaces
Qingkai Guo, Yu Sun, Yunbo Wang, Zipan Zhao, Changfeng Nan, Shaojiang Dong, Laihao Yang, Xuefeng Chen
International Journal of Mechanical Sciences

EXPERIMENT / IMAGES

Experimental images

Guo et al., 2026, Fig. 1: suction cups, airbag and origami actuators, and surface experiments.
Guo et al., 2026, Fig. 1: suction cups, airbag and origami actuators, and surface experiments.Qingkai Guo, Yu Sun, Yunbo Wang, Zipan Zhao, Changfeng Nan, Shaojiang Dong, Laihao Yang, Xuefeng Chen
Guo et al., 2026, Fig. 8: crawling on concave, convex and variable-curvature surfaces.
Guo et al., 2026, Fig. 8: crawling on concave, convex and variable-curvature surfaces.Qingkai Guo, Yu Sun, Yunbo Wang, Zipan Zhao, Changfeng Nan, Shaojiang Dong, Laihao Yang, Xuefeng Chen
Guo et al., 2026, Fig. 10: blade surfaces, oily surfaces and visual inspection in a decommissioned engine.
Guo et al., 2026, Fig. 10: blade surfaces, oily surfaces and visual inspection in a decommissioned engine.Qingkai Guo, Yu Sun, Yunbo Wang, Zipan Zhao, Changfeng Nan, Shaojiang Dong, Laihao Yang, Xuefeng Chen