Inspired by the ability of some fish and other marine life to “climb” on rocks, researchers from a Chinese scientific team have developed an underwater robot that has impressive adhesive properties and can attach itself to various surfaces, generating a force 1,000 times its own. weights, writes Xinhua news agency.

According to a study recently published in the National Science Review, this biometric robot also achieved the amazing feat of gliding 7.83 times its length per second.

Scientists in a group led by Liu Lianqing, a researcher at the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that the underwater ability of geckos to combine significant adhesion to surfaces with agile and fast gliding is due to bristle-like structures present on the edges. their suckers. According to the study authors, these “studs” can turn the water contact area into a sticky, gel-like substance to resist external detachment forces, and the water film on the contact surface acts as a “lubricating layer” during travel.

Chinese researchers then succeeded in replicating this bristle-like matrix by integrating the bristles into soft, 3D-printed suction cups to create Climbot, an underwater robot with gripping and gliding properties. According to the study, Climbot can cling very tightly to the surface of a moving ship and glide effortlessly underwater.

According to Chinese researchers, the new robot offers promising ideas in several fields such as marine science, underwater exploration and ocean engineering. (Source: Agerpres / Photo: Dreamstime.com)