Tiny robots tagged posts

Different configurations change the adhesive effect of the silicone material, whose surface has been given a mushroom-like structure. The adhesion is best when bent concave (right).
Credit: © Emre Kizilkan

A research team has succeeded in boosting the adhesive effect of a silicone material significantly inspired by the structure of beetle feet. In addition, they found out that the adhesiveness of the structured material changes drastically, if it is bent to varying degrees. Their results could be interesting for the development of tiny robots and gripping devices.

Geckos, spiders and beetles have shown us how to do it: thanks to special adhesive elements on their feet, they can easily run along ceilings or walls...

This schematic shows the concept behind the team’s plant-inspired microrobot. Credit: Image courtesy of American Physical Society’s Division of Fluid Dynamics

The future of bio-inspired engineering or robotics will greatly benefit from lessons learned from plants eg tiny robots powered exclusively by changes in humidity. To generate motion, plants and some seeds – such as mimosa leaves, Venus flytraps and pine cones – simply harness the supply or deprival of water from plant tissues.

“Some seeds consist of a head that contains all its genetic information, along with a long appendage called an ‘awn’ that is responsible for locomotion – just like an animal’s sperm,” explained Prof Ho-Young Kim...