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

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2512.07680v3
• Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2026 11:42:55 GMT
• Title: AMBER: A tether-deployable gripping crawler with compliant microspines for canopy manipulation
• Abstract summary: The system combines compliant microspine-based tracks, a dual-track rotary gripper, and an elastic tail.<n> Experiments demonstrate reliable gripping up to 90$circ$ body roll and inclination, while effective climbing on branches inclined up to 67.5$circ$.<n>The crawler provides a robust, low-power platform for environmental sampling and in-canopy sensing.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• 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.

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