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Updated: Sep 10, 2025

Manufacturing, Control, and Performance Evaluation of a Gecko-Inspired Soft Robot
Published on: June 10, 2020
Ultrafast elastocapillary fans control agile maneuvering in ripple bugs and robots
Victor M Ortega-Jimenez1,2,3, Dongjin Kim4, Sunny Kumar3
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
None:
Rhagovelia ripple bugs use specialized middle-leg fans with a flat-ribbon architecture to navigate the surfaces of fast-moving streams. We show that the fan's directional stiffness enables fast, passive elastocapillary morphing, independent of muscle input. This flat-ribbon fan balances collapsibility during leg recovery with rigidity during drag-based propulsion, enabling full-body 96° turns in 50 milliseconds, with forward speeds of up to 120 body lengths per second-on par with fruit fly saccades in air. Drawing from this morphofunctional architecture, we engineered a 1-milligram elastocapillary fan integrated into an insect-scale robot. Experiments with both insects and robots confirmed that self-morphing fans improve thrust, braking, and maneuverability. Our findings link fan microstructure to controlled interfacial propulsion and establish design principles for compact, elastocapillary actuators in agile aquatic microrobots.
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