Sticky Feet Robot Developed to Save Astronauts From Dangerous Spacewalks and Maintenance Tasks

A sticky feet gecko-like robot developed by a team of engineering scientists could be useful in future space missions.

A team of scientists at the Simon Fraser University in collaboration with the European Space Agency has developed a new climbing robot, dubbed Abigaille III, capable of crawling vertically or horizontally around obstacles with its gecko-like feet. This ability makes it capable of conducting repairs in spacecrafts, planetary explorations and even cleaning high rise building! It also saves the astronauts from venturing into several dangerous spacewalks.

The gecko robot Abigaille III, capable of clinging safely outside the spacecraft, has six legs with each one having four degrees of freedom for maximum agility.

Following 'bio-mimicry' the researchers have developed 'footpad terminators' resembling the nanoscopic hairs seen on a gecko's feet. Only difference is that the nanoscopic hair is 100 times larger than that seen on a gecko's feet but is capable of supporting the weight of the robot.

"This approach is an example of 'biomimicry,' taking engineering solutions from the natural world," Michael Henrey, a graduate student in engineering at Simon Fraser and a researcher on the project, according to ComputerWorld. "Our Abigaille climbing robot is therefore quite dexterous, with six legs each having four degrees of freedom [or joints], so it should be able to handle environments that a wheeled robot could not."

The space flight efficiency of this crawling robot was tested in the European Space Agency's labs in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, where the robot was tested in space-like condition with zero gravity.

This new research focused on two main research milestones-one development of dry adhesives, second the development of innovative locomotion systems, explains SFU engineering scientist Carlo Menon.

The details of this development will be documented in the Journal of Bionic Engineering.