Yue Tianqi, Bloomfield-Gadêlha Hermes, Rossiter Jonathan
School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, and Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Nat Commun. 2024 May 13;15(1):4038. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-48293-2.
Snails can stably slide across a surface with only a single high-payload sucker, offering an efficient adhesive locomotion mechanism for next-generation climbing robots. The critical factor for snails' sliding suction behaviour is mucus secretion, which reduces friction and enhances suction. Inspired by this, we proposed an artificial sliding suction mechanism. The sliding suction utilizes water as an artificial mucus, which is widely available and evaporates with no residue. The sliding suction allows a lightweight robot (96 g) to slide vertically and upside down, achieving high speeds (rotation of 53°/s and translation of 19 mm/s) and high payload (1 kg as tested and 5.03 kg in theory), and does not require energy during adhesion. Here, we show that the sliding suction is a low-cost, energy-efficient, high-payload and clean adhesive locomotion strategy, which has high potential for use in climbing robots, outdoor inspection robots and robotic transportation.
蜗牛仅靠一个高负载吸盘就能在表面稳定滑动，为下一代攀爬机器人提供了一种高效的附着运动机制。蜗牛滑动吸附行为的关键因素是黏液分泌，它能减少摩擦并增强吸附力。受此启发，我们提出了一种人工滑动吸附机制。滑动吸附利用水作为人工黏液，水来源广泛且蒸发后无残留。这种滑动吸附能让一个轻型机器人（96克）垂直和倒挂滑动，实现高速（旋转速度为53°/秒，平移速度为19毫米/秒）和高负载（测试时为1千克，理论上为5.03千克），并且在吸附过程中不需要能量。在此，我们表明滑动吸附是一种低成本、节能、高负载且清洁的附着运动策略，在攀爬机器人、户外巡检机器人和机器人运输方面具有很高的应用潜力。
