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The purpose of this paper is to address optimal positioning of a group of mobile robots for a successful manipulation and transportation of payloads of any shape.

The chosen methodology to achieve optimal positioning of the robots around the payload to lift it and to transport it while maintaining a geometric multi-robot formation is presented. This appropriate configuration of the set of robots is obtained by combining constraints ensuring stable and safe lifting and transport of the payload. A suitable control law is then used to track a virtual structure in which each elementary robot has to keep its desired position with respect to the payload.

An optimal positioning of mobile robots around a payload to ensure stable co-manipulation and transportation task according to stability multi-criteria constraints. Simulation and experimental results validate the proposed control architecture and strategy for a successful transportation task based on virtual structure navigation approach.

This paper presents a new strategy for co-manipulation and co-transportation task based on a virtual structure navigation approach. An algorithm for optimal positioning of mobile robots around a payload of any mass and shape is proposed while ensuring stability during the whole process by respecting multi-criteria task stability constraints.

The purpose of this paper is to describe designing Pobot V2, a robot capable to climb poles with a cylindrical or conical shape.

This paper describes the design of the pole‐climbing robot Pobot V2, based on the innovative principle of rolling self‐locking that uses no energy to maintain itself at a given altitude.

The robot is also capable of avoiding tangential obstacles, crossing small collars and regulating passively its normal contact force on conical poles with a diameter that evolves from 300 to 100 mm. The work is validated by experiments. The robot can also perform axial rotation, can cross‐tangential obstacles and climb poles with a strong conical shape, due to passive normal force regulation with springs and a force amplifying linkage. The first experiments showed excellent stability during vertical climbing.

More work will be required to make the robot more rigid, more compact, and lighter. The robot is jointly patented by Thales and IFMA.

It is original because of its rolling self‐locking concept: rolling allows continuous ascension whereas self‐locking guarantees a null energy consumption while staying still on the pole.