Adhesive Soft Robot Skin with Integrated Micro Suction Cups

Abstract

This research aims at the development of a new functional robot skin on which micro suction cups are integrated to realize two functions of skin: “adaptive adhesion to rough/curved surfaces” and “anisotropic adhesion”. This skin will be applied to various robot mechanisms such as robot hands and soles of wall-climbing robot feet. This paper reports the design concept of this skin and shows its potential experimentally. The experimental results are promising, which shows high adhesion force even on rough surfaces and asymmetric adhesion properties.