Biorobotic adhesion in water using suction cups.

Echeneid fish, limpets and octopi use suction cups for underwater adhesion. When echeneid fish use suckers to 'hitch a ride' on sharks (which have riblet-patterned skins), the apparent absence of any pump or plumbing may be an advantage over biorobotic suction cups. An intriguing question is: How do they achieve seemingly persistent leak-free contact at low energy cost over rough surfaces? The design features of their suckers are explored in a biorobotic context of adhesion in water over rough surfaces. We have carried out experiments to compare the release force and tenacity of man-made suction cups with those reported for limpets and echeneid fish. Applied tensile and shear release forces were monotonically increased until release. The effects of cup size and type, host surface roughness, curvature and liquid surface tension have been examined. The flow of water in the sharkskin-like host surface roughness has been characterized. The average tenacity is 5.28 N cm(-2) (sigma = 0.53 N cm(-2), N = 37) in the sub-ambient pressure range of 14.6-49.0 kPa, in man-made cups for monotonically increasing applied release force. The tenacity is lower for harmonically oscillating release forces. The dynamic structural interactions between the suction cup and the oscillating applied forcing are discussed. Inspired by the matching of sharkskin riblet topology in echeneid fish suckers, it was found that biorobotic sealed contact over rough surfaces is also feasible when the suction cup makes a negative copy of the rough host surface. However, for protracted, persistent contact, the negative topology would have to be maintained by active means. Energy has to be spent to maintain the negative host roughness topology to minute detail, and protracted hitch-riding on sharks for feeding may not be free for echeneid fish. Further work is needed on the mechanism and efficiency of the densely populated tiny actuators in the fish suckers that maintain leak-proof contact with minimal energy cost and the feasibility of their biorobotic replication.