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This paper describes a novel, controllable adhesive that combines the benefits of electrostatic adhesives with gecko-like directional dry adhesives. When working in combination, the two technologies create a positive feedback cycle whose adhesion, depending on the surface type, is often greater than the sum of its parts. The directional dry adhesive brings the electrostatic adhesive closer to the surface, increasing its effect. Similarly, the electrostatic adhesion helps engage more of the directional dry adhesive fibrillar structures, particularly on rough surfaces. This paper presents the new hybrid adhesive's manufacturing process and compares its performance to three other adhesive technologies manufactured using a similar process: reinforced PDMS, electrostatic and directional dry adhesion. Tests were performed on a set of ceramic tiles with varying roughness to quantify its effect on shear adhesive force. The relative effectiveness of the hybrid adhesive increases as the surface roughness is increased. Experimental data are also presented for different substrate materials to demonstrate the enhanced performance achieved with the hybrid adhesive. Results show that the hybrid adhesive provides up to 5.1Â greater adhesion than the electrostatic adhesive or directional dry adhesive technologies alone.

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This paper details an autonomous perching and take-off method for a quadrotor micro air vehicle (MAV) using a novel dry adhesive gripper on smooth vertical walls. The gripper mechanism uses three directional dry adhesive pads in a triangular configuration. Each pad is equipped with a force sensor that can detect the pad's loading condition. A servo motor is used to actuate the attachment and detachment of the gripper, which is mounted in the front of a quadrotor MAV. This makes perching possible by simply flying toward and hitting the target surface. Autonomous control is made possible using a Microsoft Kinect to localize the MAV and a PID controller to control the perching maneuver. Experiments show that a minimum speed of 0.4m/s is required to guarantee a successful perch. Also, in 93% of the experiments in which the MAV hits the target at a speed higher than 0.4m/s, the perching maneuver is successful. To initiate a take-off procedure, a release signal is sent to the servo and the gripper is detached from the wall by pulling the adhesive away from the surface. Once the gripper is detached, the MAV becomes airborne again and the control system stabilizes the flight.Chicago, IL 60616, USA akalanta@hawk.iit.edu 2 Karan Mahajan is an undergraduate student with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department,

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