This paper presents the design of a novel radius-variable-gripper (RVG) for use as end-effector of high-voltage hot-line cleaning robot (HVCR). A eight-bar linkage mechanism is proposed to obtain the aim of 1-dof acutuation. According to the shape of insulators, the dimension design and kinematic analysis of RVG have been carried out. The optimization is performed to locate the joint points of arm segments, on which the brushes are mounted, approximately on the position circles in the whole opening-and-closing process of RVG. The prototype has been given finally, and it is showed that RVG is feasible to this special application.
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