Geckos Distributing Adhesion to Toes in Upside-down Running Offers Bioinspiration to Robots

Song, Yi; Lu, Xiaobo; Zhou, Jun; Wang, Zhouyi; Zhang, Zehua; Dai, Zhendong

doi:10.1007/s42235-020-0045-0

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…However, the A-D cycle of insects is far less complicated than that of geckos, and the release and contact processes are not visible in insect locomotion. The coordination mechanism between the different digits of geckos and the regulation of the adhesion force during the supporting phase have been proposed [12,33]. This paper has carried out a comprehensive and systematic investigation of the A-D cycle of geckos' complex distributed footpads and found that the foot locomotion postures are consistent in the swing and contact stages, with the exception of the release stage, which is related to the speed of movement of different surfaces.…”

Section: Structure-function Relationship Across Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This distributed adhesion region plays a crucial function in the adhesion force management, and the adhesion area size is related to adhesion force. Geckos modify the adhesion area of their fore-and hindfeet greatly during the stance phase to accommodate varying adhesion requirements relative to the COM [11,33]; the ants adjust the adhesion area on the tarsal segments to cope with the changing load [34]. Moreover, insects, geckos, and other animals on various environments are inseparable from the directional control principle of adhesion, which is realized through the collaboration of micro and macro adhesion structure to achieve the change of adhesive area and adhesive strength [35].…”

Section: Structure-function Relationship Across Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors declare that they have no competing interests. [22,23,33,47]; •-2 [2,48]; ○-1 [34,42]; ○-2 [46,49]; ○-3 [32,38]; ○-4 [50]; ○-5 [1])…”

Section: Declarationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adaptation Strategy In Attachment–Detachment Cycles When Faced With Changes In Incline And Orientation During Gecko Climbing

Zong¹,

Wang²,

Wang³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Geckos are endowed with the extraordinary capacity to move quickly in various environments; they benefit from efficient control for the complex footpads. Research on the locomotor behavior and contact status in the attachment–detachment (A-D) cycle of the footpads for diverse challenges is linked to the revelation of regulatory strategy. At present, there is a lack of systematic research for the A-D cycle, which limits the understanding of the adhesive locomotion mechanism.Methods: The A-D cycle that facilitates the level and up–down locomotion on inclined and vertical surfaces of Gekko gecko was investigated to clarify the locomotion postures and durations in the release, swing, contact, and adhesion stages, respectively. This reveals the relationship between the structure and function of the attachment devices, and its regulation when faced with changing locomotion demands.Results: Despite changes in climbing demands, gecko foot locomotion posture (angle extremes and changing trends) in the swing stage, the posture (bending angle: fore 41°, hind 51°) and contact time ratio (7.42%) in the contact stage remain unchanged, which is in contrast with the adjustable postures in the stance phase. Furthermore, the variation range of the forefoot locomotion posture is larger than that of the hindfoot, and the forefoot angle changing trend is opposite to that of the hindfoot, indicating that the combination of anatomical structure and functional demands results in the differentiation in the adaptation mode of the A-D cycle for the fore- and hindfoot. Conclusions: Gecko’s fore- and hindfoot have evolved different structures to undertake differential functions. The function (adhesion) for various locomotion demands relates to footpad deployment in the stance phase but is unaffected by the regulations (postures and durations) in the swing and contact stages. The results demonstrate that the unified adaptation strategy reduces the diversity and complexity of the control. It advances the understanding of the adhesive locomotion mechanism, reflects the structural evolution and adaptation strategy of attachment devices for functional requirements and provides biological inspiration for effective design and control of adhesion robots.

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Section: Structure-function Relationship Across Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Structure-function Relationship Across Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Adaptation Strategy In Attachment–Detachment Cycles When Faced With Changes In Incline And Orientation During Gecko Climbing

Zong¹,

Wang²,

Wang³

et al. 2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Locomotion is a fundamental skill for the survival of the majority of animals, and it is also the source of life [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Natural evolution is always accompanied by changes in locomotion, even in the process of plant growth, which is still inseparable from motion and is simply a passive form of motion or implicit internal motion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mathematical model and nanoindentation properties of the claws of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Sun

Guo

et al. 2022

IET Nanobiotechnology

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Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the macroscopic, microscopic, and cross‐sectional structures of the claws of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and a mathematical model of a claw was used to investigate the structure–function relationships. To improve the quality of the SEM images, a non‐local means (NLM) algorithm and an improved NLM algorithm were applied. After comparison and analysis of five classical edge‐detection algorithms, the boundaries of the structural features of the claw were extracted based on a B‐spline wavelet algorithm, and the results showed that the variable curvature of the beetle claw enhances its adhesion force and improves its strength. Adhesion models of the claw were established, and the mechanical properties of its biomaterials were measured using nanoindentation. Considering that the presence of water can affect the hardness and Young's modulus, both ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ samples were examined. For the dry samples, the hardness and Young's modulus were 0.197 ± 0.074 GPa and 1.105 ± 0.197 GPa, respectively, whereas the respective values for the wet samples were both lower at 0.071 ± 0.030 GPa and 0.693 ± 0.163 GPa. This study provides data that can inform the design of climbing robots.

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“…Studies quantifying force production of feet during locomotion have been carried out on smooth surfaces like level ground (Chen et al, 2006), vertical walls (Autumn et al, 2006a;Song et al, 2020a), and even ceilings (Song et al, 2020b;Wang et al, 2015). Investigators have recognized that geckos, and gecko-inspired adhesives can operate on 3D terrains whose roughness varies over multiple spatial scales (Alexander, 2003;Kaspari and Weiser, 2007;Niewiarowski et al, 2019;Russell and Bellairs, 1976;Johnson, 2007, 2014;Song et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size, shape and orientation of macro-sized substrate protrusions affect the toe and foot adhesion of geckos

Song

Yuan

Zhang

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Geckos are excellent climbers using compliant, hierarchically-arranged adhesive toes to negotiate diverse terrains varying in roughness at multiple size scales. Here, we complement advancements at smaller size scales with measurements at the macro-scale. We studied the attachment of a single toe and whole foot of geckos on macro-scale rough substrates by pulling them along, across, and off smooth rods and spheres mimicking different geometric protrusions of substrates. When we pulled a single toe along rods, the force increased with the rod diameter. Whereas, the attachment force of dragging toes across rods increased from about 60% on small diameter rods relative to a flat surface to approximately 100% on larger diameter rods, but showed no further increase as rod diameter doubled. Toe force also increased as the pulling changed from along-rod loading to across-rod loading. When pulled off from spheres, toe force increased continuously with sphere diameter as observed in along-rod pulling. For feet with separated toes, attachment on spheres was stronger than that on rods with the same diameter. Attachment force of a foot decreased as rod and sphere size increased, but remained sufficient to support the body weight of geckos. These results provide a bridge to the macro-scale roughness seen in nature by revealing the importance of the dimension, shape, and orientation of macro-sized substrate features for compliant toe and foot function of geckos. Our data not only enhances our understanding of geckos’ environmental adaptive adhesion, but can also provide inspiration for novel robot feet in development.

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Geckos Distributing Adhesion to Toes in Upside-down Running Offers Bioinspiration to Robots

Cited by 12 publications

References 45 publications

Adaptation Strategy In Attachment–Detachment Cycles When Faced With Changes In Incline And Orientation During Gecko Climbing

Adaptation Strategy In Attachment–Detachment Cycles When Faced With Changes In Incline And Orientation During Gecko Climbing

Mathematical model and nanoindentation properties of the claws of Cyrtotrachelus buqueti Guer (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Size, shape and orientation of macro-sized substrate protrusions affect the toe and foot adhesion of geckos

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