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The subtle adhesive forces that allow geckos to seemingly defy gravity, cling to walls, and walk across ceilings have inspired a team of researchers in South Korea to build a robotic device that can pick up and release delicate materials without damage.
The team, based at Kyungpook National University and Dong-A University, published their research work in Science and Technology of Advanced Materials. The researchers are hoping it can be applied to the transfer of objects by robotic systems.
The gecko’s innate adhesive ability to climb walls has drawn the attention of many researchers. An artificial mushroom-shaped dry adhesive that mimics this mechanism has been used to robotically pick up materials. However, the force needed to detach the adhesive from the material’s surface can lead to its damage, especially if the material is fragile, such as glass.
“There have been problems in getting the adhesive to detach easily,” explained Seung Hoon Yoo, first author of the research article.
The robotic device has a vertical silicon rubber (left) with dry adhesive separated into several triangular pads. The pads stick to the glass as they are pressed down and peel off with upward twisting motion (right).
The team resolved this problem by using a vacuum-powered device, made of soft silicon rubber. In order to detach the dry adhesive without damaging the fragile object, a new method was introduced, involving a twisting and lifting motion that pulls the dry adhesive off of the glass surface. The addition of this twisting motion caused a ten-fold reduction in the force required for detachment.
“We expect our research will garner significant interest from the industry, since many companies are very interested in using dry adhesives for temporary attachment and movement of components, especially in robotic applications,” said Sung Ho Lee, one of the study’s authors.
Did you know?
The secret of a gecko’s foot lies in its protein-coated tiny hairs. Each hair divides into branches that end in flat triangular pads, so small that their molecules create weak forces of attraction with the surface it is climbing. This force known as van der Waals is what holds the gecko in place.
Gecko’s can climb vertical surfaces at up to 77 cm/s. That’s almost 2 miles per hour.
Further information
Prof Moon Kyu Kwak
[email protected]
Kyungpook National University
Prof Sung Ho Lee
[email protected]
Dong-A University