Bioinspired cross-medium wall-climbing robot with high-performance adhesion and contact adaptability

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Biomimetics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Wall-climbing robots (WCRs) are crucial for hazardous environments but face limitations in surface and environmental adaptability.
• Existing WCRs often rely on specialized mechanisms, restricting their universal application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a contact-adaptable, peeling-resistant, and cross-medium WCR.
• To enhance WCR performance and application scope in complex environments.

Main Methods:

• Integration of gecko- and octopus-inspired self-adaptive rigid-soft hybrid tracks.
• Utilization of hollow mushroom-shaped adhesive microstructures (HMSAMSs) mimicking biological adhesion.
• Mimicking biological mechanical decoupling and bone-muscle functions for enhanced track components.

Main Results:

• HMSAMSs demonstrated superior adhesion forces and adhesion-to-preload ratios in both dry and underwater conditions.
• The hybrid tracks exhibited enhanced contact adaptability, peeling resistance, and prevented interface crack propagation.
• The WCR showed stable cross-medium performance and adaptability to diverse material surfaces.

Conclusions:

• The developed WCR overcomes environmental and surface limitations of previous robots.
• The biomimetic hybrid track design significantly enhances robot adhesion, adaptability, and durability.
• This advancement accelerates the universal application of WCRs in challenging multimedia environments.