Chinese scientists design adhesive underwater robot capable of fast sliding

SHENYANG -- A team of Chinese scientists have taken inspiration from rock-climbing fish and developed an underwater robot with impressive adhesive capabilities. This robot can cling onto surfaces with a force equivalent to 1,000 times its own weight.

The biomimetic robot also achieved a remarkable glide at a speed of 7.83 times its body length per second, according to the study published recently in the journal National Science Review.

The research team led by Liu Lianqing from the Shenyang Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that the underwater gecko's prowess in combining substantial surface adhesion with agile and swift gliding is attributed to the setae structures present on the edges of its suction cups.

Its setae or bristles can convert a contact area with water into a sticky gel-like substance to counteract external detachment forces, and the water film on the contact interface works as a "lubrication film" during movement, according to the study.

Then, the scientists managed to remake the setae arrays by integrating them into 3D-printed soft suction cups, and create the Climbot, the underwater adhering-sliding robot.

The Climbot can tightly cling to the surface of a moving ship model and glide effortlessly underwater, according to the study.

The robot shows promising prospects in the fields of marine science, underwater exploration and ocean engineering, said the researchers.