Versatile adhesive skin enhances robotic interactions with the environment.

Journal: Science advances
PMID: 39823320

Abstract

Electronic skins endow robots with sensory functions but often lack the multifunctionality of natural skin, such as switchable adhesion. Current smart adhesives based on elastomers have limited adhesion tunability, which hinders their effective use for both carrying heavy loads and performing dexterous manipulations. Here, we report a versatile, one-size-fits-all robotic adhesive skin using shape memory polymers with tunable rubber-to-glass phase transitions. The adhesion strength of our adhesive skin can be changed from minimal (~1 kilopascal) for sensing and handling ultralightweight objects to ultrastrong (>1 megapascal) for picking up and lifting heavy objects. Our versatile adhesive skin is expected to greatly enhance the ability of intelligent robots to interact with their environment.

Authors

  • Changhong Linghu
    School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
  • Yangchengyi Liu
    School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
  • Xudong Yang
    School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
  • Zhou Chen
    Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Street, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China (W.T., S.L., C.Z., Z.C., Z.H., F.C.); National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Street, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China (W.T., S.L., C.Z., Z.C., Z.H., F.C.); Hypothalamic-Pituitary Research Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China (W.T., S.L., C.Z., Z.C., Z.H., F.C.).
  • Jin Feng
    Student Affairs Office, Guilin Normal College, Guilin, China.
  • Yiyuan Zhang
    Department of Joint Surgery, the Second Hospital of Fuzhou, Teaching Hospital of Xiamen University, Fuzhou Fujian, 350001, P.R.China.972133982@qq.com.
  • Yan Li
    Interdisciplinary Research Center for Biology and Chemistry, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China.
  • Zhao Zhao
    School of Fine Arts, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410006, China.
  • Young-Jae Seo
    School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
  • Junwei Li
    Department of Medical Oncology, Phase I Clinical Trial Centre, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Guangzhou.
  • Haoyu Jiang
    School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
  • Jiangtao Su
    School of Electronic Information, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
  • Yin Fang
    School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
  • Yuhang Li
    Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Excited-State Energy Conversion and Energy Storage, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
  • Xiufeng Wang
    Qingdao Huanghai College, Qingdao 266427, Shandong, China.
  • Yifan Wang
    School of Bioscience and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
  • Huajian Gao
    Mechano-X Institute, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
  • K Jimmy Hsia
    School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.

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