The concept
The Bubble is a compact articulated robot with a sliding direction and capable of traversing vertical or curved surfaces. It is equipped with four rubber-coated wheels and a powerful electric fan that allows it to adhere to most surfaces to handle particular tasks.
The context
The idea of this concept was brought to my attention by Abhishek Roy, one of the industrial designers with whom I work. The Bubble is already at the prototype stage as Abhishek and his team have been printing and assembling parts for a few months.
Operation
The Bubble would be roughly the size of a cleaning robot like the Roomba. The combination of the rubber wheels with the electric fan allows it to mount on curved, rounded or vertical walls. This would allow him to climb and descend on the walls to perform tasks such as washing windows, filming scenes or repairing surfaces. The Bubble could also be used to detect cracks in building structures.
A thermal imaging system would help detect temperature fluctuations, while a Lidar imaging system could be installed on the Bubble for the purpose of mapping areas of a city or parts of a building is located. The Bubble could also detect equipment problems and perform minor repairs such as soldering parts together or applying silicone to plug holes. Its ability to adhere to curved surfaces also allows the use of the Bubble on enormous objects with high maintenance like aircraft fuselages.
The Bubble should be composed of ultralight materials. A small but powerful electric turbine would generate enough suction to the wall or surface. Four electric micromotors powered by lithium-polymer batteries would be used to move the robot.
The batteries would be continuously monitored by the vehicle so that it returns to a loading station when necessary. In the event of a breakdown, a small parachute may be deployed to avoid causing injury to passers-by and reducing damage to the Bubble.
The potential market
The Bubble could be sold for the purpose of inspecting aircraft and skyscrapers. The television and film industries could also get them to shoot scenes from new points of view. Of course, we could install a GoPro camera and sell them to the general public as well. Versions with suitable suspension could be used to climb a house to clean the gutters.
The designer
The idea and the images of the Bubble come from Abhishek Roy and his team. Anhishek is the founder of Lunatic Koncepts, a design lab located in India. The Abhishek team also created the renderings for the Subrocket and the Korbiyor concept of self-contained electric hearts.