Wet Adhesion Mechanism and Its Application to Bionic Wall-climbing Robot

A new bionic wall-climbing robot based on wet adhesion mechanism is proposed.The wet adhesion model and adhesive force control method are discussed firstly.The wet adhesive forces of bionic pad made of vulcanized silicone rubber(polymer) are measured secondly,and it is demonstrated that a thin liquid layer between the pad and the wall helps to generate adhesive forces.An experimental bionic wheel-leg climbing robot is designed,and the statics is analyzed thirdly. Wall climbing experiments on the proposed robot are conducted finally.The experimental results show that the thin layer helps to increase the adhesive forces.Currently,the robot can stop at the wet slope of 85°,and climb up the slope of 65°of glass successfully.It means that it is feasible to develop wet adhesion inspired climbing robot.